The Boy in the Team
by Shadenight123
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is Rookie of the Year and son of the police chief. Naruko Namikaze is prime Kunoichi and hero of Konoha, daughter of the Yondaime Hokage. Hence, the dead last assigned to their team is Shinku Haruno...son of civilians. There is no rising from the lower levels when you're surrounded by prodigies. Just live through the nightmare...and hope to wake up to a better day.
1. Team Seven

The Boy in the Team

"Naruko Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha and Shinku Haruno, you are assigned to team Seven. Your Jounin-sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

A scream pierced the quiet silence of the classroom.

"All right! You heard that, Teme? We're in the same team!"

"Shut up," a grumbling male voice remarked.

"Ehi! You have to treat me nice! My mom said so 'ttebayo!"

He remained quiet in his corner.

This was a _nightmare_.

Had he really done that badly on the last test?

His crimson eyes looked down at the surface of his desk. Hibachi muttered from his side, warily eying him. "You sure got lucky, dude. Why the long face?"

Shinku tried a smile, which came out as thin twitching lips curled in a grimace. "You mean…except me being the dead last in a team with the daughter of the Yondaime and the son of the Police Chief?"

His voice came out barely as a whisper. "I'm screwed all over," he mumbled. "Dead. So, so dead."

Hibachi patted him on the back. "Come on pal, think positive. Your mother's bound to be happy."

"I'm in here because you wanted to become a ninja," Shinku muttered back to him. "Did you really have to guilt trip me in following you?" he looked intensively at his desk.

"Come on, it won't be that bad," Hibachi patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. "At least you passed the exam."

"For all the good it did to me," Shinku muttered back as the last team formed. He heard the teacher's last words about working hard together, and then watched as he left. The Jounin-sensei trickled in one after the other, taking their charges. Hibachi waved goodbye to him, and then left with his own team —a perfectly normal, average team.

He was glad he brought a book when five minutes went by and 'Kakashi' still did not show himself. Shinku's face would have disappeared into the pages if he could have. His dreams of having a normal, every-day shinobi life with a couple of average looking ninja had disappeared into thin mist. Sure, his mother was probably going to be head over heels the news.

"Hey!" there it went, his peaceful life ended in that moment. "You another sulking bastard like Sasuke? There's enough Emo power already in this team with him. No more than one sulking Teme allowed, uh-uh!"

Shinku carefully brought his book slightly down, eying warily the blond haired girl and her bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle. Probably because she was excessively close, sitting on the row of desks just in front of him.

He hadn't even heard her move. Then again, he _had_ been trying to disappear from existence. Maybe he was still in time to dig himself a hole somewhere.

"Ohi, you there?" she asked once more, going from curious to pissed off in less than a second.

"Y-Yes," he replied. So maybe it was more of a 'squeak' than an 'answer', but _still_. He was talking with the daughter of the _Yondaime_, so didn't he have the right to remain silent or something like that?

His eyes slowly moved back to the ink words of his book, only to find it gone. He flexed his fingers. He had held the book in his hands until a moment before, hadn't he?

"Now then," the girl said holding on to the book, _his_ book, with a mischievous smile. "It's not nice to ignore someone when they're talking to you," she added. "And as I said, there can only be one sulking bastard in the team, and that's Sasuke."

"I can hear you, idiot," Sasuke replied calmly. "And that's theft, so give him the book back."

"Sheesh, keep your duck-butt hair-feathers down, Uke-Chan! I was just looking at it," Naruko rolled her eyes. "And just trying to make conversation…Kakashi won't be here for hours at least," she threw the book back into Shinku's hands, who hastily held on to it.

"And then he's going to ask us our likes and our dislikes, and so on. I know all about that stuff!"

Naruko finished stating that, before flopping down on the row of benches and bringing both arms behind her head. "Well, I'll let you two quiet guys fraternize first then. Speak about the length of your—"

"That does not happen," Sasuke retorted. "It never happens. Only in those trashy books you keep hiding in my room to put me in trouble with my mother do those things happen."

"Ehi! Uncle Jiraiya's books aren't trashy!"

"Then why don't you read them at home?" the Uchiha replied.

Naruko didn't answer, instead firmly starting to snore.

Sasuke looked in disgust towards the sleeping form of the girl, albeit there was hardly any true emotion behind it, before standing up from his spot and moving closer to Shinku.

Shinku swallowed the ball of saliva and nervousness he had in his throat, as the son of the Police Chief stopped just next to him. The boy extended his right hand.

"We're in the same team so we'll have to get along. You don't look as much of a pain as Naruko, so dead last or not, it's good to have you on the team."

Shinku nervously extended his own hand and lightly grasped that of Sasuke, before shaking. The moment done, Sasuke snorted as he stared towards Naruko's form. The girl's right eye was open as she stared intensively at the two of them.

"We are not going to measure our dicks," Sasuke stated plainly.

Naruko stared.

"We are not going to talk about our past conquests," he added then.

Naruko stared again.

"We are not going to speak of our sexuality or of our nightly activity. Get your head out of the gutter trash, idiotic bimbo," Sasuke snorted.

Naruko kept on staring.

"Ignore her," Sasuke added then, looking at Shinku. "She'll get tired in a few minutes if you don't say anything."

Shinku tried to smile, but the conversation died out like that.

It was, in one word, awkward.

That was how Team Seven began.

_Awkwardly_.

**Author's notes**

**What I do is unforgivable.**

**What My Muse does is worse.**

**I did state I needed more angst, and so here we are…**

**A tale of Drama and Angst begins! *Not. For. The. Faint. Of. Heart***

**The Reasoning: The original 'Boy in the Park' actually was not so much an Original as much as a decision to write an actually likeable Oc. **

**By writing **_**that**_** Oc, I tasted the waters.**

**So, I can write this now with relative mental fortitude and knowledge. The reasons why Naruto is Gender bent and there's no Sakura but Shinku isn't because I 'transferred' the characters. Shinku is the Male substitute of Sakura in a place where he could not be Rookie of the year (That spot is to Sasuke) Hence he had to be Dead Last. Hence there had to be a Naruko to be prime Kunoichi. Hence, there had to be a Yondaime/reason for Naruko to be prime Kunoichi. Hence, there could not be Uchiha Slaughter with Minato and Kushina alive.**

**Hence this tale begins.**

**Extremely logical.**


	2. Sensei

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Two

"This is borderline criminal."

Sasuke's statement hung in the air, met with silence. Shinku cautiously peered out of the book he had returned to read, while Naruko was otherwise outright sleeping on the desks' row.

"Five minutes late is acceptable, understandable even when it's lunch time and the road is trafficked," Sasuke continued calmly, slowly growing incensed with each passing moment. "Fifteen minutes are barely acceptable, especially if you're a Jounin who can take to the rooftops, but if there's a good enough excuse it is still forgivable."

Sasuke huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But three hours is not acceptable. Unless Konoha is under attack, no Jounin whatsoever should ever be three hours late! Really, ex-Anbu or not it is unforgivable! Three hours! I could have eaten at home, taken a shower, and then returned!"

"Nyah… stop whining duck-butt," Naruko yawned as she slowly stretched. "Kakashi-Nii will come by soon. Three hours and a half is the upmost 'late' bracket he uses."

"Why?" Sasuke heatedly asked, "Why does he do this? What kind of sick and twisted man is he to do this willingly?"

"Ohi, not everyone is a punctuality fanatic like you, Uke-chan."

Sasuke's next words drowned in his mouth as he let out but a set of strangled noises from his throat, wringing his hands in the air and then giving one final huff. "Fine," he sat back down, his eyes gazing outside the window.

Shinku quietly returned to his book.

The silence stretched thin for a few more minutes, before the door slid open with a light bang. His eyes went once more up from the book, and this time he closed and put it away. A silver-haired man with the Konoha forehead protector covering his left eye strolled in lazily.

He wore a dark green flak jacket and a blue mask covered most of his face. His entire appearance yelled 'disinterested'. He just gave them one look, and then pitifully sighed.

"The only team I can't fail," he grumbled. "Fine," he took out a orange covered book. "You three pass for…being yourselves. I am Kakashi Hatake and from this moment will be your Jounin instructor."

"Ohi!" Naruko took that moment to stand up and eye the Jounin-sensei badly. "Dad said you have to do things properly!"

"I did," Kakashi replied, "You two," he pointed at Naruko and Sasuke, "are fine together and he," he pointed at Shinku, who began to sweat visibly at being the centre of attention, "hasn't tried to kill you yet for your antics. Therefore, you pass. Congratulations."

"But what about the bell test! I want to do the bell test!" Naruko exclaimed. "I want to catch a bell!"

"Nobody ever catches a bell," Kakashi replied, "No Genin is able to. Otherwise there wouldn't be a point in leaving them as Genin right?"

"I still want to try 'ttebayo!" Naruko exclaimed.

"Let her try," Sasuke huffed, shaking his head slowly. "Knowing her she'll keep on pestering, and pestering, and pestering, and pest—"

"Yes! What Uke-chan says goes! Come on Kakashi-Nii! Bell test! Bell test!"

"Well, fine," Kakashi surrendered. "Tomorrow, at seven o'clock in training ground Seven, we will do some survival training."

"Yes!" Naruko fist-pumped in the air.

"Which also means that I will test your team, and I will send you back to the Academy should you fail the test."

Shinku began to sweat nervously.

"Furthermore, since you know about the Bell test…I'll just have to come up with something else," Kakashi shrugged. "Maybe something that doesn't involve teamwork to pass."

"Ohi, Kakashi-Nii!"

"It's Kakashi-sensei," the man corrected the girl while holding a clearly visible smile —even though his mask supposedly should have hidden it. "Meanwhile, how about we present ourselves? Let's start with me," he gently closed his book.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't have any particular likes or dislikes, and my hobbies aren't important. My dream is nothing worth mentioning."

He then gave a nod towards Naruko.

"Miss Know-It-All can go next."

"Hey! I don't know everything," she grumbled, "Just a lot of stuff," huffing, she cleared her throat. "I'm Naruko Namikaze! Age thirteen, born the Thirty-First of October, and future Hokage! I like my mother's homemade ramen, Ichiraku's ramen, cup ramen and any type of ramen there is! I dislike people who lie or aren't honest with themselves! I also don't like broody Uke-chan and enemies of Konoha. My dream is…" here she smiled wistfully, "To be seen for the awesome Kunoichi I am, and not just because I have fuzzy-butt sealed inside of me."

Shinku closed his eyes. What was a _Fuzzy-Butt_ to begin with?

She couldn't be referring to the Kyuubi, could she? Sure, there were festivities and holidays around Konoha for the fact Naruko was the jailor of the Kyuubi. Heck, the Thirty-First was a national holiday in Konoha because of it.

He doubted a fox as big as a mountain actually enjoyed the nickname of 'Fuzzy-Butt'.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, future chief of the Konoha Police Department and I'm going to have you arrested for chronic tardiness the moment I take the office," Sasuke began dryly. "I like my mother's cooking, tomatoes and whatever else my mother cooks. I dislike being compared to my brother and people who can't see past the Uchiha surname. My dream is," here he puffed his chest out, "to make sure Konoha becomes the safest ninja village there is."

Shinku then stared as Kakashi's single eye gazed straight at him. He felt like a deer staring down a giant, hungry tiger. No, to be more precise he felt like a bunny being in front of some sort of titanic monster.

"Ah…I'm Shinku…Haruno," he stammered out. "I like…reading and th…there's nothing I dislike in… particular. I don't have any dreams at the moment."

"Very well," Kakashi clapped his hands. "See you all tomorrow at training ground Seven, seven o'clock, don't be late and eat a light breakfast. You're going to be retching, I'll guarantee that much!"

Then the man stood up, opened the window and jumped out.

"You had to make him test us, didn't you?" Sasuke grumbled looking at Naruko.

"Ohi, duck-butt, there's no way we're going to fail."

"We aren't," Sasuke exhaled, "It's him I'm not sure about."

When both his teammates stared at him, he could only bring his gaze down.

"Now that's just being negative like the Uke-chan you are," Naruko shot back. "I'm sure we can get Shin-chan to pass the test just like us!"

Sasuke shot Naruko an incredulous look. "You know that no amount of training will turn the dead last of the class into Rookie of the Year material in less than a day, right? No, in less than an afternoon actually."

"Muh!" Naruko whined, before looking out of the window. "Well! Let's go and eat something since it's snack time! We didn't even have lunch and I'm starved!"

Shinku didn't even feel hungry. His stomach was a bubbling pit of anxiety and stress.

He could fail being a Genin? He could be sent back to the Academy?

No, even worse…

He could end up sending back to the Academy the daughter of the Yondaime and the son of the Police Chief?

In that moment, Shinku really would have wanted to cry.

He didn't, if only because he held on to that tiny inkling of hope that the man would still 'pass them all the same'.

That was all he could count on, to hold on to a thin strand of hope.

How much it would hurt however…he had yet to learn it.

**Author's notes**

…

**Dramaaa…**


	3. Usual Life

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Three

He felt sick. Frankly, the mere thought of the next day terrorized him. If he had to define his strong point, the only thing he had a bit of a margin over the rest of his skills, it would be theory. He was good on theory. Theory application failed short, but he was good on _Theory_.

As long as he repeated that to himself, maybe everything wasn't so bleak as it seemed.

Shinku knew how a kunai was a melee weapon, and how to throw a shuriken. He knew how a slash was supposed to be, or how the wind affected the shots. The problem was he couldn't throw more than one shuriken at the time —awfully slow to boot at that— and how even holding a kunai made his hands sweat.

It just felt wrong, to hold an instrument of death in his hands and treat it like a flag to wave around.

Frankly, he felt fine doing the Bunshin. It was a simple, harmless technique. The Kawarimi could harm you if you substituted with a chair and fell face first —a shinobi generally was too dextrous to fall face first, but the possibility for self-harm was there. The Henge came slightly wrong to him, since there was always something that didn't settle properly, or some feature that was less defined than another.

He trusted in his Bunshin. Yes, that was something he could trust on and if this test was something everyone else did —according to Naruko, it was— then it couldn't be that hard.

Still, he wasn't hungry at all. He swallowed the broth quietly as he heard Naruko and Sasuke banter away as usual.

"Kakashi-Nii isn't going to do anything different than the bell test. He doesn't have any imagination, and really, even if he does something different it will always be around teamwork. Just got to work together and it will be fine. He doesn't really like to dirty his hands if he can avoid it, so he'll start off with a Genjutsu. I swear that's the first thing he ever uses."

"He's a Jounin," Sasuke retorted, "He doesn't have only one trick up his sleeve, and what if _he_ _knows_ that _we know_ about this? He probably will take into account that you'll fill us up with everything you know about him to begin with, and so do something completely different."

"Or maybe he'll think that we know that he knows that we know," Naruko replied, "so why not be on the safe side? Right, he's also a fan of 'look underneath the underneath' so whenever he does something he might actually mean something else."

Sasuke muttered under his breath what could have possibly been curses, before turning his sharp dark eyes towards Shinku.

The other dark haired teen wished hard the Uchiha heir wasn't going to say anything, but it was all for moot.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Eh?"

"If I hear blond-bimbo some more I might go mad, so I'm asking you. You have any idea?"

"N-No?"

Sasuke huffed, and then returned to his bowl. Shinku flinched and turned to stare at his own empty bowl.

"Don't worry about Broody-chan," Naruko said then, "He's got a bit of a blunt edge when dealing with people. I was there to take that stick out of his ass years ago, but some splinters remain." Then she slowly brought her face closer, bringing her right hand to cover half of her mouth as she mock-whispered. "I think he has haemorrhoids."

"I don't have haemorrhoids!" Sasuke snapped sharply. "And I can deal with people just fine! It's you I'm having trouble with, because you're insufferable!"

"Sniffle, Uke-chan wounds me so, so much," pouted Naruko, "What am I going to do without my daily dose of broodiness? Ah! The world is so colourful without Brooding Emos! It will blind my eyes! Help!" she covered her eyes with her arm, before snickering.

"How was it?" she asked then. "Good enough for the cinema?"

"It was good enough for a Seppuku, I suppose," Sasuke retorted, "Where's a dagger when you need one?"

"I wasn't asking you, teme!" Naruko huffed. "So, Shin-chan, was it good enough for the cinema?" and then she stared at him. He hesitated, before slowly croaking out.

"I…don't know?"

Naruko huffed, rolling her eyes. "Everyone's an art critic now."

"That wasn't art, it was torture," Sasuke stated plainly. "Ibiki would be impressed."

"Muuh! Ayame-neechan!" Naruko whined, looking at the waitress. "What do you think?"

"Oh, I'm sure it was nice, Naruko-chan," the girl replied with a light smile, "Another Pork ramen on the house?"

"Ah, Ayame-neechan, if I were a boy I'd fall in love with you!" Naruko exclaimed with a bright smile, before grabbing the offered bowl.

"Itadakimasu!"

Sasuke exhaled slowly, before bringing down a hand on Shinku's shoulder.

"Don't stare or you'll lose your appetite."

"Wha—"

The Pork ramen bowl finished his life in _less than a minute_. Shinku actually stared at the perfectly empty bowl after Naruko _ate it_, _swallowed it and then spat it out saliva-covered,_ before blinking once.

"Don't ask," stated plainly Sasuke. "I think it's some sort of Ninja technique for scarfing down ramen. I don't know who would teach her something like that, but yes, that's how she does it when she's in a hurry."

Sasuke then blinked, and looked at the clock against the wall of the stall.

"I'm going to be late if I stay here another thirty seconds. Well, have to go. See you tomorrow, dobe, Shinku," and with that Sasuke paid and left, but not before Naruko could get her own 'See ya, Teme!' thrown at his back.

"Uke-chan's always punctual," Naruko muttered. "Well, I've got to go too Shin-chan! See you tomorrow 'ttebayo!"

She then disappeared in a _flicker_ _of leaves,_ leaving him behind to stare at the pile.

"That girl," Ayame sighed, shaking her head. "Honestly, I'll forward the bill to the Hokage then," Shinku stared at the bowls left behind. There were quite a few. He paid his own and finally left the stall.

The sun was setting, and as he walked back home he couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Hey mom," he muttered to himself as he opened the door, "Guess what? I'm the dead last," he shook his head as he kicked off his shoes and walked in the kitchen. There was the usual post-it attached to the fridge.

"Gone sale-shopping with dad," he mumbled reading the note, "Fine," he shrugged. It wasn't anything new. His parents were civilians and since they both worked during the day, they went shopping in the late hours.

"I'm in Team Seven," he scribbled down on the post-it. He stilled the pen afterwards. "Not much more to write."

That done, he slowly made his way up to his room. It was quite the plain room. White walls, the occasional shelf, a desk, a bed and a drawer filled it. There was a dingy carpet and a bull's eye target against the other side of the wall.

His accuracy was great if the enemy stood still, within two arms' length from him and he had a minute to prepare the shot.

With a snort, he turned on the lamp and opened the book on his desk. He doubted he would fall asleep at all that night —better to take his mind off everything then, at least it would make the pit of nervousness in his stomach disappear.

"…_the Genin, or Low-Ninja, are recently promoted shinobi from…"_

**Author's notes**

**Next chapter…Pain! Suffering! Angst! Chihuahua!**


	4. Kill The Pain

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Four

Training ground Seven had three wooden poles sticking out of the ground, a lazy river with rushing water, a variety of trees and a small stone slab tucked away in a corner.

At seven o'clock, Shinku and Sasuke met in front of the wooden poles.

Their greeting words were the true pinnacle of flowery speech.

"Uh," Sasuke waved a hand.

"Ah," Shinku awkwardly gave a nod of the head in greeting.

Shinku's back was against one of the wooden poles. Sasuke instead just jumped on top of the other one and began to dangle his legs from it.

The rustling sound of leaves from the trees' branches mixed with the mumbling of the river's water, while a few birds cawed up in the sky. It was a bright, clear day.

At seven and five minutes, Naruko dropped in front of them with a sleepy gaze, before simply falling asleep against the ground without another worry in the world.

Four hours later, and Shinku was sitting on the ground, back against the wood pole, while Sasuke had taken to nervously cackle and slam a kunai in the chest of a doll that somewhat resembled their sensei. The dark curses muttered against the doll were probably just the start of something even darker, and Naruko's expression was actually of curiosity.

Shinku on the other hand found it extremely creepy.

The moment the sun was at its highest peak, Kakashi appeared.

"Yoh, I'm—"

"**LATE**!" Sasuke roared. "You. Are. Late. Four hours late. You cannot have an excuse! Four hours are Two-hundred-forty minutes! They are fourteen thousand four hundred seconds! They are one sixth of a day! You made me waste one sixth of my day!"

"I got lost on the road of life," Kakashi replied completely unfazed by Sasuke's outburst. "So," he looked at all three of them. "Are you all ready for the survival training?"

"Yeah!" Naruko exclaimed, before standing up, "I'm going to get a bell now!"

"Uh? Who said anything about bells?" Kakashi said. Slowly, the Jounin stood up to full height and cracked his neck, loosening his muscles before exhaling. "Survival Training."

"Kakashi-Nii?" Naruko swallowed nervously.

"I cleared it with the Hokage and the Konoha Hospital," Kakashi added thoughtfully, quietly taking out a kunai and twirling it lazily with his right index.

Shinku felt chills run down across his spine as he warily gazed the tensing of both Sasuke and Naruko. He felt nervousness swallow him whole once more as he began to take in sharp and small breaths.

"It's simple, really. I'll play the part of the bad, evil Iwagakure Jounin," Kakashi said as his body slowly began to sink in the ground. "And you'll be my little preys to hunt and kill. You get…let's say, one retry after I defeat you. So if I kill all of you two times… you lose. If you survive one hour however, then you win!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Naruko exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" only the head was visible of Kakashi by that time. "Life isn't fair. Deal with it…_and start running._"

Then he disappeared into the ground.

Only to appear an instant later, faster than what Shinku's eyes could catch, with his fist firmly planted into Sasuke's stomach. Kakashi's elbow slammed into the boy's ribcage, sending Sasuke backwards from the strength of the blow. Naruko coiled back a punch, but Kakashi's leg came up right against her stomach and sent her down.

Then he disappeared again.

Shinku swallowed and ground his teeth. He was the next, wasn't he?

"Don't worry now," added thoughtfully Kakashi from behind him, "I'm not going to hit you as strong as them. They can take a beating and be up by tomorrow," then he felt a hand clam strongly on his shoulder and his body spun, before the left side of his face came into contact with a strong, metallic surface —the metal strip on Kakashi's right hand glove— that sent him on the ground.

He could feel his teeth clatter on the sides of his mouth as the iron taste of blood pooled within it.

He coughed out and watched with a glazed look the white fragments of a broken teeth standing there, dirty with blood…his blood, on the ground.

The pain on his cheek flared next, as his tongue darted and recoiled, trying to avoid the sharp fragments of what remained of his teeth.

A kunai then slowly stopped an inch away from his left eye.

"Killed once," Kakashi stated plainly.

The next, he felt his lower body grabbed roughly, as someone carried him away from the _mad_, _psychopathic_ sensei.

He opened his eyes with his back against a tree, staring at three illusions of Naruko who looked to his face worriedly and Sasuke, who was holding a hand to his chest.

"Really, this is what we get because you acted like a dobe, stupid blond _bimbo_!" Sasuke spat out, before warily looking around for signs of their 'sensei'.

"Ohi! What did I know Kakashi would snap?" Naruko retorted angrily. "He could have done the bell test! And father agreed to this, so really…maybe it's an underneath the underneath thing?"

"Hurts," said Shinku, before spitting out more blood and teeth bits, "it hurts."

"It might be a Genjutsu. Try the Kai all right?"

Shinku nodded numbly, before bringing his fingers up —they were trembling— in the Kai sign. The result was not pleasant the moment he spoke the word. Instead of numbing the pain, or making the wound disappeared, the pain just increased to the point where he had to fall down on the ground and hold on to his mandible.

"Shit! Shit, shit," Naruko moved closer. "I think he actually _broke_ something. Don't worry, that's nothing we can't heal at the hospital. Really, it's just a matter of hours, even less! I get my bones broken all the time training."

She was holding on to his shoulders as he tried to push the pain away, holding his eyes closed shut. It didn't work, and even the tiniest of movements made him wish he was dead rather than in such pain.

"He's not a regeneration monster like you, Naruko," Sasuke stated bluntly. "He'll probably need a day. It's not like medics can do miracles."

"Ah, I'll just have to ask Baa-chan to do something about it. She's going to fix him in no time. She always fixes people in no time."

"Yes, yes, now how about we come up with some way to survive? I think he killed me once already," Sasuke stated.

"Eh…" sheepishly, Naruko smiled. "He killed me once too."

They both turned to stare at Shinku, who just shot back an extremely angry glare…mostly because he was in pain, and _he wanted to leave_ and go get his mouth treated.

"I think he killed him too," Naruko mumbled.

"You don't say?" Sasuke snarled. "I swear, if I have to go back to the Academy because of your brilliant idea to be tested…"

"Children, children, children," a voice sung from above their heads. "Don't they always teach you to never explain your plans with your enemies nearby?"

With that, Kakashi dropped down in their mist. The next moment was a blur as two Naruko illusions actually tackled the Jounin, before the silver haired man replaced himself with a trunk filled with explosives.

Shinku brought his hands up to protect his face, pushing on his legs to jump backwards. His back slammed the tree trunk merely a few steps away from him, and when the explosion rang wooden shrapnel collided against his clothes.

His ears rung, as all he could listen to was the pounding sound of his eardrums and of blood in his mouth. The pain forgotten, the adrenaline spiking up, the primeval fear reaction got him to simply think about _surviving the psychopath_ rather than worry about anything else.

He blindly ran away from the source of the noise, before falling down and coughing raggedly —which worsened the pain in his mouth— the moment he could no longer keep on running. He blearily cracked his eyes open.

He had taken a random direction, and now he was near the river.

Shinku's mouth flared in pure agony as he tried to open it, and the sharp spikes of pain that erupted from his broken teeth were a thing he had never felt before.

The sound of explosions rung behind him, as he coughed out blood…was this 'taking it easy' on him?

He wondered what 'normal' would be then. He'd actually die, he supposed, if the man went all-out.

"Kakashi-Nii! Stop! Stop!" he heard Naruko's voice from the forest. "You'll break his arm!"

Sasuke's scream came next.

"Kakashi-Nii! What the hell! Let him go! Let. Him. Go!"

Shinku spat out another blob of saliva mixed with blood, wetting his hands in the cold water before pressing them with a hiss against his mouth.

He brought his face down and carefully swallowed the cold and icy water.

Shinku felt his head go slack with the shock. Just how cold was the water!?

The dribble of blood, water and what little remained in his mouth came out then.

"I told you to have a light breakfast!" the man's voice was surprisingly chipper as it came closer to his position.

"Now, one last kill to make, and then everything will be fine!"

Genjutsu. It had to be a Genjutsu.

He closed his eyes and held his fingers ready, before hissing out through a strangled groan. "Kai."

Kakashi's footsteps neared him.

"Kai."

He could feel the man stop a few steps away from him.

"_Kai_."

"You know, one of the problems with Genjutsu is that as long as you keep on saying 'Kai' and I keep on hearing it, I can reapply it before you even realize it." Kakashi's voice came like a mocking drawl. "Now, don't worry, I said I'd take the easy way with you, right?"

Shinku turned slowly, before blanching. Both Naruko and Sasuke both hung, groaning, from a nearby tree. Kakashi wasn't even sweating.

"So! I realize I shouldn't have expected much from the dead last in the Academy to begin with," Kakashi smiled. "This is why I'm giving you the chance to quit right now. You just…take out a kunai and 'kill' yourself. Course, I could probably 'kill' you with ease but it wouldn't be any fun now, would it?"

He warily eyed him.

"So? You're just the last one! Come on, I don't have all day."

He slowly unsheathed a kunai. Carefully, he brought it up. The tip of the blade was swaying, his hands sweated from the effort to at least hold it properly. He didn't feel very well to begin with.

"Ah…" he exhaled, his mouth screaming at him to stop moving his tongue where it hurt. Then he took his time.

Kakashi eyed him, holding that eye-smile of his that was starting to grate on his nerves too. The man was within two arms lengths from him. He was also standing still. He was giving him the minute he needed.

This was like giving him the perfect chance to attack. It was…the silence, the rushing water…the other two knocked out…

"Ah…" he exhaled again. "Th…This is…a Genjutsu?"

He felt his tongue touch his teeth the next moment —his intact teeth, not his broken ones— and then he fell down with a sigh of relief as the two bodies hanging on the trees actually turned fake.

"Well," Kakashi clapped his hands. "It did take you long enough."

That was when he saw his surroundings.

He was still in front of the three wooden poles.

Alone.

"Why?" Shinku asked. The man just scratched the side of his chin for a moment, before shrugging.

"Well, if I compared you to the other two it would sort of be unfair, right? So…I'm going to test you first and then take care of them."

"Ohi! You should fight with someone your own size!" Naruko's scream came from a side of the training ground, right in the middle of the forest.

"By the way," Kakashi said with bright cheerfulness, ignoring Naruko's outburst. "Only five minutes have passed! We still have nearly an entire hour, so," this time he twirled a kunai —one that Shinku supposed was real. "Let's see how good you as dead last are, all right?"

"S-Since how long was I…" Shinku stammered out, trying to clench on his kunai only to find he had never taken one out to begin with.

"Oh, since I said 'Survival Training'," he giggled. "I'm just that good."

Shinku took a step back, his right hand going to his shuriken pouch. He actually threw one, _before turning around and running as if hell itself was on his heels._

Kakashi lazily deflected the lonely shuriken with a half-bored look.

"Really?" he grumbled. "Well…I'll go after Sasuke next then," with a shrug, he disappeared in a flicker of leaves.

He had all the time in the world.

He had removed the batteries from the alarm clock before coming to the training ground after all.

**Author's notes**

**The AU-ness will be explained with each 'section' of this test. One for Sasuke and one for Naruko.**

**Everyone gets his chapter.**


	5. Unveil the Hidden Grief

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Five

Sasuke Uchiha had darted for the woods the moment the silver-haired Jounin had said the word 'begin'.

Then he had watched as the dead last of the class remained perfectly still under the effects of a Genjutsu. He would have slammed his head against the bark of the nearby tree, but that would have given away his position, if the Jounin wasn't already aware of it.

"_If I had wings, I'd fly away and be free from war."_

A kunai sailed in the air close to his cheek. Blood dripped down as Sasuke ducked and jumped back. He dispelled the Genjutsu…but there was _none_.

Kakashi came upon him, right fist extended. Sasuke yelled as he twisted his body, the blow slamming against his shoulder and sending him to soar in the air. He threw a steel wire against a branch, grabbing on to it and pulling, changing his trajectory from the volley of shuriken Kakashi sent his way.

"_Ehi, Sasuke? I'm sorry."_

The sun glared at him. The air felt heavy. Blood lust poured out from Kakashi's very movements as the Jounin pounced like a tiger toying with its prey. Sasuke threw an explosive tag at man, substituting with a trunk filled with more. The explosion rung through the entire forest, the birds flying away and taking to the clouds, just as the chippering of other birds grew in intensity.

Sasuke stared as the Jounin came at him with a sharingan blazing in his left eye socket.

He knew of that.

His father had told him about the man, about his story with another Uchiha, about what had happened during the war. The Raikiri tore the very ground as the man charged forth with the intent to kill. It was terrifying, horrifying even…

But it was _nothing_ compared to the fear of that night.

Nothing.

It wasn't even worth more than a Kai, followed by him ducking beneath the wave of kunai flung at him with explosive tags tied to their end.

He jumped back with his feet touching the bark, before rushing backwards up the trunk towards the treetop.

"_It is pretty pathetic for the pride of the Uchiha, to die of something as disgraceful as a sickness."_

The man was actually trying to kill him. At least, the effect was good and even the bloodlust was up to notch. Yet it missed a fundamental point.

"_It's better this way, Sasuke."_

A flash of light, coming from the Jounin's forehead told him where the man would strike next. He was keeping himself visible —a trap within the trap, as Naruko had said.

"You're not going to use it?" Kakashi's voice came from behind him. "Why? It's such a waste."

"Shut up," Sasuke snarled. "What do you know about it to begin with?"

He closed his eyes and expelled chakra from his brain once more, removing the Genjutsu placed on him yet again. The man was toying with Sasuke, standing right in front of him, speaking to him and locking eyes with him as if he could understand what it meant.

He couldn't.

He would _never_ understand what it meant, to watch a brother _rip his own eyes out_ and force them in his younger brother's eye sockets.

"What your father told me."

"Then he told you wrong," snarled Sasuke. "I don't have it."

Sasuke's legs locked with a branch, as his hands went through the hand signs of the Katon Gōkakyū. He pushed his body back, letting himself fall towards the ground.

"_Birds all have to return to their bloodied nest in the end. But if even birds can't fly forever, then who is really free?"_

He dropped down and scattered the leaves around him, using them as cover to throw sharp senbon needles behind him. Sasuke clicked his tongue in frustration the next instant, when the projectiles went wide and hit the tree trunks.

Kakashi dropped down from above, trying to crash his ankle against Sasuke's back. The Uchiha rolled forward, avoiding the blow. The Jounin was holding back since the very beginning —albeit quite loosely. Sasuke held little doubt the man was testing him on all the shinobi arts he might have known. He also had no doubt eventually he'd be done and…

Two hands grabbed him by the ankle, plunging him deep into the ground.

The next moment, Kakashi emerged dusting the dirt off his hands. "Very well," the silver haired man said with a bright smile. "Now I'll be off to test Naruko. Stay right there!"

Sasuke snarled. "Hey! Come back here!" he yelled at the retreating back of the man. "You can't leave me here!"

_The smell of tree sap, of dirt and blood filled his nostrils._

"_Itachi-Nii?"_

_There was only a __**nightmare**__ after that question._

A rustling of leaves from a nearby bush got his attention, which soon turned into one of relief.

"Shinku," Sasuke said curtly. "Get me out of here."

Shinku blinked and stared at Sasuke. Well, he actually stared at the head of the Uchiha emerging from the ground. He touched his teeth with his tongue —they were all there. "Kai." He stated plainly, slowly crouching down and nearing him.

"I'm not a Genjutsu," Sasuke said curtly. "Just get me out of here. I can feel ants crawling up my legs."

"I don't have a shovel," Shinku muttered lamely, looking around before putting his fingers near the boy's neck and starting to pull at the gravel. "I'll…try."

"One uses electricity charged chakra to loosen the earth's consistency and swim within it, before grabbing someone and plunging them in after quickly altering the earth to return solid." Sasuke grumbled. "He made the neck easy to move around or I'd suffocate. It's called Beheadment Technique for a reason," the raven-haired boy stared at the other one. "Jutsu lesson is over. Get me out."

"It's…" Shinku hissed, removing his right hand and waving it around. He cursed under his breath at the scratch on his finger, before swallowing down and returning to the task.

"You could use a kunai;" Sasuke stated quite plainly.

"Ah…don't want to…risk it," Shinku muttered, "Might slip."

"Oh," Sasuke blinked. "That means that Dobe always tries to kill me when she does it!?" he huffed. "Try and get my right side free first. If I end with an arm out I can pull myself out with ease."

He didn't know how much time passed, what with his hands hurting and bleeding or the dreadful silence that surrounded them. "Isn't it a bit too quiet?" Shinku whispered.

"He's probably nearing Naruko," Sasuke snorted. "The girl has probably set some traps. Now he's going to make her jump into them. It's his favourite pastime."

Shinku blinked. The girl had said that too during the Ichiraku snack? He hadn't been listening properly…then again, he was nervous about this.

"You think we'll pass?" he muttered.

"Course we will," Sasuke retorted, "But not before I make him pay for being four hours late," the boy added with dark gleaming eyes. "I will castrate him."

Shinku gritted his teeth before pulling loose a slight large rock, finally freeing enough of Sasuke's right arm to let the boy get completely out of his bounds…in less than a minute.

It had probably taken Shinku half an hour to dig with his bare hands enough to get him loose —his fingers were a mess of dirt and blood.

"Oh, right," Sasuke turned to stare at him. "What were you doing standing in front of the man like an imbecile?"

"I…He put me in a Genjutsu," Shinku acquiesced. "I couldn't get free until the end."

Sasuke exhaled, and then dusted himself off.

"Let's wait for the fireworks to start then," he stated plainly. "Then we go in and surprise that tardy bastard."

Shinku swallowed nervously.

Why did he suddenly have to participate in a suicidal action?

Couldn't he just…cheer from the sidelines?

Sasuke watched on, like a lion waiting its prey. He'd strike at the right moment, in that _precise_ split-second.

_In the end…it was all because father returned home late from work, that he was found only in the middle of the night. Then again, it wouldn't have made a difference to his eyes._

_His eyes were no longer his to begin with._

**Author's notes**

**Yes, things are **_**distinctively better**_** for the protagonists (Sasuke and Naruko) and also **_**specifically worse**_**.**

**Next chapter, Naruko!**

**Right, by the way. I'm going larping this weekend (Larping means Live-Action RolePlayING) so will be back on Sunday afternoon. Which means next chapter might be **_**not**_** tomorrow.**


	6. Yell Not Your Sorrows

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Six

_Lies fill the world_. _Masks placed on faces smile and laugh to tasteless jokes. Grim looking grimaces hide behind tightly lipped smiles._

She stood hidden beneath a tall and leafy branch, holding on with chakra slightly coating the underside of her thumbs.

_People smiled and called her a hero, before whispering behind her back with venomous words filled with jealousy._

She carefully closed her eyes, letting the noises of the forest slowly drift away from her ears. She was looking for the other noises —a breaking twig, a light breath, fabric rubbing against skin.

Naruko liked this —the light thrill of being the hunter and the hunted, in a sort of eternal swap between prey and predator. She could see Kakashi in her mind, squatting and making his steady way towards her while avoiding the traps she had carefully placed.

_She had asked why the Kyuubi was in her. Her mother hadn't answered. Her father had grimaced and looked away._

Quietly, Naruko tensed her fingers around a steel wire. She could swear Kakashi-Nii was slowly creeping forward, trying to reach her position. He'd probably be any second now from jumping down on her, trying to place a kunai to her throat.

She had heard Sasuke fighting off Kakashi. She didn't understand Uke-chan's objection to using his sharingan. If she had eyes like those, she'd use them to begin with —and really, how cool was it to simply have to point the eye at someone to get them in a Genjutsu?

_It was easy to see the benefits of being a golden cage. The problem was that all cages hang from a hook._

She flexed the steel wire a second later. Kakashi came down from above her ready to slam a kunai in her back —metaphorically, of course. She doubted Kakashi-Nii would actually deliver the blow.

Naruko's Kage Bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced with a trunk of explosives as the rest of the traps sprung one after the other.

Her real-self exhaled in relief, before giving a nod to her other four clones. They dashed into action then, explosive tags primed to their bodies. The first clone exploded in a flash when a kunai struck its neck, covering the advance of the other three.

She knew Kakashi had avoided the trap —it was obvious, really— so she knew he'd be ready for another strike.

_She had no time for friends. She had to learn to control her power after all._

The second clone avoided a volley of senbon needles, but fell prey to an explosive tag on a nearby branch. The subsequent explosion levelled the tree, leaving behind but a scorched stump.

_She couldn't trust those smiles, because half hid jealousy, and half hid greed._

The third clone found itself struck by a shuriken in the left eye, exploding in the middle of a clearing.

_She was the centre of everyone's attention, yet they kept her at an arm's length._

The fourth clone chose to self-detonate in the end, letting the tags run their course.

_After all, there did not exist a jail that couldn't be breached._

She hissed in frustration as she moved away from the spot, the noise of the explosion covering her footsteps. She unclasped a bundle of steel wire, tying one extremity to a kunai. She flung the weapon against the nearest tree, before planting a set of explosive tags on the wire and jumping down.

Her hand held on to the wire, before her ears picked up the noise of a branch breaking. She sent chakra through the wire, not wasting a moment of time and twisting her body in mid-air ready to strike. Of course, Kakashi hadn't followed her in a straight line, so her twisting did nothing but allow him to hit her on the side with a punch.

She groaned in frustration, feeling her body pushed back in mid-air. She flexed her legs to land on a nearby trunk, before jumping back in the fray kunai glinting in hand. It hit with a metallic 'thunk' Kakashi's, before she continued her flight, landing on the next tree.

A volley of shurikens nearly hit her, making her gasp and lose her bearings for a single second .In that second, Kakashi flickered right next to her and gripped her by the neck. Kakashi slammed her down on the ground hard, before a kunai plunged deep in her stomach.

She screamed in pain, blood seeping out of her mouth.

"Argh! Ka…" the next, she cursed her very self.

"Kai!" the illusion disappeared, but by then it was too late.

She stood tied to the central wooden pole, with Kakashi in front of her smiling widely.

"Too late!" Kakashi smiled brightly, "Really," he shook his head. "You were supposed to do it the moment we exchanged glances."

"I wasn't staring at you!" Naruko groaned. "Come on! And why am I the only one tied!?"

"Uhm…well, somebody unearthed my Uchiha-plant," Kakashi remarked. "So I'm waiting until someone decides to try and save you. If one of you fail you all fail after all! That's what being a team is about."

Naruko sulked. "That's unfair!"

"Well, then just free yourself!"

Naruko narrowed her eyes to slits. "You placed something on the back of the wood pole, didn't you?"

"I might have asked something of the sort, maybe," Kakashi acquiesced. "It's sort-of the tradition, you know? Someone always gets tied to the pole."

"And I had to be tied to it because?"

"Uhm…it felt right," Kakashi shrugged and returned to his orange-covered book.

"Gah! Come on! Uke-chan! Where the hell are you!? Come and free me please! Kakashi-Nii is being mean!"

"Ehm," there was a nervous call out, which actually made Kakashi stare at the completely visible, outright in plain sight and without even a weapon out Shinku Haruno. "I had a question…"

"You understand this is survival training," Kakashi retorted.

"Yes but…isn't the clock broken?"

Kakashi smiled. "Oh? Nope, doesn't seem like it:"

"But there's…the shadow right? Doesn't it mark…"

Kakashi threw the kunai, which slammed against the ground, a few inches away from Shinku's feet. The boy yelped as he made a frightened jump backwards…from behind the wooden poles. The 'Shinku' speaking with Kakashi charged ahead then, while the 'real' one exhaled and made a break for the pole.

"Ehi! Watch out, there might be a—"

A flash of light, a light pressure against his chest, and Shinku ended up rolling on the ground as the pole exploded outwardly.

"Trap," Naruko finished lamely. She dusted off the shards of wood from her shoulders, breathing in deeply. "Now my jacket's ruined," she mumbled.

Her back _felt_ slightly cold, but she supposed it had simply to do with being sticky with sweat.

Shinku, on the other hand, opened his eyes blearily. He had a kunai stuck in his left shoulder.

Frowning, he slowly grabbed and pulled the weapon free.

The tip was red.

"Oh."

He stumbled back on his feet a moment later. It didn't actually hurt —then again his head was ringing. His eyes moved towards Naruko —who appeared none the worse than before, since the trap was probably 'aimed' towards a would-be rescuer coming from the back— and then towards Sasuke.

The silver-haired Jounin was easily fighting off the Uchiha, without even breaking a sweat.

"Ohi, you all right?" Naruko asked moving closer.

"Ah…yes?" he answered.

"Aren't you bleeding?"

"I…don't even feel it," he mumbled back.

"You're probably in shock," Naruko nodded. "Just…don't worry. I'll go and help Uke-chan. You try and find a moment to come on in from the back and we'll be all set."

Shinku nodded numbly. He didn't actually feel pain. Even his fingers, which were hurting like hell before, now didn't hurt him at all. If being in 'shock' was about being pain-ridden, then it was a wonderful feeling.

"Ohi, snap out of it soon eh," Naruko snapped her fingers in front of his face. "I said, do you have explosive tags?"

He shook his head.

"Ninja wire?"

He shook his head again.

"A kunai?"

He offered his own.

"You realize that makes you weapon-less?"

He frowned, before nodding.

"I'll just have to go with my Taijutsu then."

He just numbly nodded back again. It was starting to piss her off.

Naruko would have much liked to slam her teammate's head on the ground by then, but that wouldn't have shown 'teamwork' at all.

Well, he _was_ the dead-last of the class in the end. She grumbled, before conjuring a couple of clones. "Keep an eye out on him before he falls dead or something."

The clones nodded, and then she was off.

"Ohi, boss!" one of the clones yelled.

"What?" she asked.

"Your back! You're bleeding!"

"Just a flesh wound!" with that said, she dashed back in the middle of things. Really, what was her father thinking, putting in _her_ team someone who couldn't even stand the sight of his own blood?

**Author's notes**

**I'm back from larping.**

**Dead-tired, but back.**


	7. Only Silence

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Seven

Kakashi exhaled. He really had no ground whatsoever to fail the team —unfortunate as it was, his days as a freeloader at sensei's house were about to end as he would return to active duty as a Jounin-sensei.

He just wanted to check one last thing, but that was something he'd have to ask to the Hokage privately.

Parrying another blow, he finally called the survival training off.

He clapped his hands.

"Very well, you all pass. Congratulation, we are now Team Seven officially. Who would have thought about that, uh?" he rolled his visible eye. "Now, I'll bring the form to the Hokage. You lot are dismissed for today. See you tomorrow at seven o'clock right here."

"Hey!" Naruko exclaimed, "What about the bell test!?"

"Maybe another day," he shrugged, "When you don't have to carry one of your teammates to the hospital."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "The dead last managed to get wounded? I even gave him the easy task," grumbling, the Uchiha gave a look behind Kakashi's back and then sighed. "How long is he going to stare?"

Kakashi just shrugged, before disappearing in a flicker. That did serve to wake Shinku up, as he slowly began to walk forward while Naruko's clones dispersed.

"Has he even been wounded before?" Naruko muttered under breath. "Really, I knew we had to deal with a dead-last…but I expected something better, dattebayo."

"Pipe down," Sasuke retorted. "At least he tries…and he hasn't called me Uchiha-sama once yet."

"I think he hasn't called any of us once yet," Naruko replied in a low whisper, and then she smiled. "Well Shin-chan! We passed 'ttebayo! How about we all go and celebrate at Ichiraku!?"

"Dobe, he has to go to the hospital," Sasuke stressed out. "Food can wait…and aren't you wounded too?"

"Mine's already healed," Naruko shrugged. "Fuzzy-Butt and all, you know. You can rip my chest apart and I'll be as good as new the next day."

"You think I can also bash your brain and have him repair it?" Sasuke quipped back, "Because we can experiment in making you smarter, if you like."

"Ohi, Uke-chan;" Naruko heatedly replied, "You want to go at it?"

As the two bantered on, completely ignoring Shinku's presence, the boy whispered.

"I…ah…well, I'll go to the hospital…then…bye?" with that murmured last word, and without even receiving a reply, he began to walk away.

"That's like kicking a puppy," Sasuke stated plainly, as he watched Shinku's back further away and already disappearing from sight. "I hope you know that."

"You can't just trust people like that," Naruko retorted. "The 'shy and meek' type is just another mask."

"I told you he hasn't called me Uchiha-sama once."

"Means nothing," Naruko huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "My jacket's all ripped too, and I was trying to tell him about the trap to begin with."

"Now that's just being mean," Sasuke pointed out. "You can't expect someone fresh out of the academy —dead last or not— to know about seals. Heck, there isn't a Fuinjutsu course to begin with!"

"Still, I'm not trusting him more than I can keep an eye on him," Naruko replied.

"Do as you wish, dobe," the raven-haired Uchiha said, shaking his head. "Let's go get your daily dose of ramen, so you'll be quiet for a while at least."

"Hey! You're making it sound like a bad thing!"

Kakashi Hatake glanced warily at the list of exams.

"You understand why he's in the team now?" Minato Namikaze replied with ease, while calmly scribbling down on the paperwork —the mortal foe of all Hokage.

"I actually don't understand what I'm seeing," Kakashi replied. "The votes are…well, borderline passing which makes sense for the dead last, with a light increase towards the end."

"Yes, but look at the votes of _everyone else_," Minato stressed out, "Except the clan children I mean."

Kakashi did just so, and he closed his eye calmly. "In the last months, they've all taken lower and lower scores."

"Yes, they all purposefully —and badly at that— failed the last of their written tests. They probably knew about the tradition of placing the 'Dead-Last' with the Rookie of the Year and the First Kunoichi. Considering whom they were, the risk of flunking the academy seemed minor compared to the chance of being in their team."

"So…Shinku Haruno didn't? Nobody else told him?"

Minato shrugged. "Maybe they did and he didn't care, or maybe he actually _didn't want_ to be in the team. I remember my sensei telling me of what hell it was, to be in a team with prodigies. He had pretty much the same situation, with Orochimaru and Tsunade both being Rookie of the Year and the Granddaughter of the first Hokage respectively."

"Should I do anything in particular about it?" Kakashi asked. "Train him specifically or something else?"

"No, nothing of the sorts," Minato shook his head, "Just let him be. I'm hoping he might have a stabilizing effect on the other two however, what with his completely normal background. If it's too much of a hassle I'll ask sensei how the Sandaime worked out with it…but I trust you with my daughter's future as a Kunoichi, Kakashi…I hope you understand I wouldn't give her training in the hands of anyone else."

Kakashi nodded.

"Also," Minato continued, "I hope you understand that Jounin-sensei are _tasked with protecting their students._ I don't care if someone makes the puppy eyes and Naruko suddenly decides she wants to help. If that someone even slightly smells of dirt, mist, lightning or even sand I want you to call the mission off. _Understood_?"

"Yes, sensei," Kakashi replied. "I know what I'm doing."

"Good, or I'm unleashing Kushina on you," Minato nodded sagely as Kakashi shuddered. "You're dismissed."

Kakashi disappeared in a flicker the next moment.

Shinku was waiting in the lobby. His brain was sort-of telling him that if he had a wound on the shoulder, then he shouldn't be waiting for his turn like someone with just a toothache. The problem was he didn't even feel like talking to the nurse for fear of his voice cracking.

He had been outright useless, no, even worse than that. After the outright horrible way he had gone through the 'survival training' he was surprised they had simply chosen to ignore him. Maybe they just expected him to shrug it off —as the Yondaime's daughter had done. Still, the sensei had said to go to the hospital, so there he was.

Alone, of course.

His number came up after a good half an hour —his stomach was grumbling, but at least during the lunch break there weren't many people in line.

The nurse pointed him to a room where he entered, and after sitting down on the white paper-sheet so common on the hospital's examining beds, he waited once more.

Fifteen minutes later, the doctor arrived.

"What seems to be the problem?" the man asked, looking towards his shoulder before replying, "Hurt your shoulder?"

"I had a training accident," Shinku replied. "I lost the grip on my kunai when something exploded in front of me, and so it ended up in my shoulder."

"Now that's being an unlucky bastard," the man replied with a light chuckle. "Well, show the wound then —I still haven't learned how to give stitches through clothes."

Shinku removed his jacket and then his shirt, wincing as he felt the pain flare through his shoulder's area from the movement.

"Oh boy, you should thank your jacket," the medic remarked casually as he examined the wound. "I'll clean the wound up right away. You came in here with someone?"

"No," Shinku replied. "They all had something else to do."

The medic cleaned the wound quietly after that, as all conversation died out. Shinku hissed, gritting his teeth as the man stitched the wound up and then placed some gauze over it.

"There you go," he added. "It was just a flesh wound, but I'm sure it gave you quite the scare uh. It's always like that with you kids. The moment they give you weapons you just don't realize what they are until you get wounded once. The lucky ones are wounded on the training grounds," he patted gently Shinku on his good shoulder. "You're not the first I'm patching up today. You passed your Jounin's test?"

Shinku nodded numbly.

"Well, good for you then;" the man then gestured for him to get down from the bed. "You're free to go."

"Ah…thank you," Shinku bowed, and then left, his jacket beneath his arm.

His stomach growled, but he just walked forward. It was no use trying to go to 'Ichiraku' ramen, where his two teammates probably were. He understood the message just fine. He wasn't wanted in their 'prodigy' world. Unfortunately, he'd have to stay with them for a while. Really…he had all the luck in the world.

The door of his house opened, and he stepped inside to the silence once more.

It was so quiet, and his stomach grumbled more.

For once, he was glad for the precooked food his mother left for him on the kitchen's table. He just had to heat the stuff for a little less than a minute before it became edible.

Therefore, it was that he sat down at the empty kitchen table, a heated plate of food in front of him, and in the silent house…he began to eat.

_Alone_.

**Author's notes**

**The feeling of being alone in the world is one of the most terrifying thing a human being can ever come to feel. It is a soul-crushing instant of pure despair that claws at your very soul…and one of the strongest feelings to ever be felt. **

**If anyone ever felt it before, then they know what I'm talking about…in that case, know this: you aren't alone. There's Shade here with his regular angst and small talk in the author's notes to bring you up.**

**Ps: Introverted's new chapter is nearly done. **


	8. Meaningful Silences

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Eight

His shoulder itched. It was nothing worthy of note —he supposed all wounds itched. At seven o'clock, he once more stood in front of the wooden pole of training ground Seven. Sasuke Uchiha was already there, and with a curt nod of his head, they both began to wait in silence.

"Your parents have a bakery, right?" Sasuke asked suddenly, making Shinku frown.

"Y-yes," he replied.

Silence fell once more in the clearing. The river's water flowed by with ease behind them, as the crickets sang and the leaves atop the branches bristled beneath the wind.

Sasuke tapped his right foot on the ground once.

"And they're both civilians," the Uchiha added again.

"Ah…they're both ex-ninja…" he replied.

The embarrassing silence lasted a few minutes more.

"My mother used to be a Jounin-level kunoichi," Sasuke pressed on, "She stopped to take care of her family."

Shinku looked down on the ground for a moment, before replying. "Both of my parents did the same thing."

"Why both?" Sasuke asked, blinking.

"I don't know," Shinku shrugged. "Probably, they thought that two was better than one, or maybe my mother didn't want to risk my father dying on a mission or something and convinced him to drop out…I don't know, I never asked."

Silence once more settled between the two. It was slightly less uncomfortable, but it was still there.

One hour later, and Sasuke began to punch the wooden pole while grounding his teeth.

"Both of them, late?" Sasuke hissed. "What if it's contagious? This lateness…oh for the love of—"

Another punch, "Is Kakashi always going to be late like this? And what of the Dobe? If she slept in I'm going to throttle her, I swear!"

Shinku awkwardly gazed away.

"Maybe…they had reasons?" he hazarded.

"No reason should make anyone later than five minutes. If you risk being late, then just leave early!" Sasuke shot back angrily, before returning to working on the pole with his fists. Shinku flinched at the tone, and then quietly sat down bringing his arms around his knees, with his back against his own wooden pole.

Another hour passed by.

Sasuke began to froth.

"Argh! Enough is enough!" the Uchiha exclaimed, wringing his hands in the air. "Let's spar," and then he turned towards Shinku.

Shinku's eyes widened to giant saucers.

"Eh?"

"You heard me! Come on, let's spar."

"B-But—"

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Come on."

Hesitantly, Shinku moved away from the safety of his wood pole, before gazing with fear etched in his eyes at the Rookie of the Year. This felt like being a pig sent to the slaughter. Maybe he could pass with the excuse of his shoulder hurting from the wound of the day before. He just had to…oh, right.

He was supposed to shrug it off, so if he did that he'd just further lose any hint of acceptance. He didn't need to be told to understand this was just another test to see if he was worthy of the 'team' or not. It was just like with the class. Clan children sat one next to the other, while civilians took their own rows. It was an unspoken rule.

"Do we really have to do this?" Shinku asked, warily putting up a defensive stance.

"It's called training," Sasuke retorted. "It's what training entails."

"Shouldn't we wait for—" Shinku jumped back as a fist nearly came close to slam in his guts. "Hey!"

"Less talking, more fighting!" Sasuke's leg came up next, bringing with it dust and dirt. Shinku brought both arms up, and soon a hand grabbed on to his left one before twisting it. He ended up feeling the ground beneath his feet disappear as he fell down like a bag of potatoes.

"Gah!"

Sasuke snorted.

"That was like, five seconds?"

Shinku didn't answer. He just hissed and began to nurse his aching shoulder. The pain dully throbbed through his limb as he gently massaged his arm, before slowly stumbling back on his feet.

"I…am not very good with Taijutsu."

"I noticed," snorted Sasuke. "I think you're better off staying way, way back. There's enough of the Dobe and me acting like the frontline meat bags."

"Ah," Shinku breathed in deeply, before gazing once more around. Why was their sensei so late to begin with?

"Well," Sasuke commented, "Let's go again."

"Eh!?"

"You're never going to improve if you give up like this. Come on, hands back up."

Shinku swallowed his nervousness. His left arm trembled slightly from the pain in his shoulder, but just as he hoped the stitch wouldn't open, a brutal blow came right against that very spot.

He cried out in pain as he clutched the wounded area, falling on one knee.

"Didn't you go and get the wound healed at the hospital?" Sasuke asked his own eyes wide, as he got down on one knee next to him. "Don't tell me you didn't."

"Ah…I did, I did," Shinku murmured back holding his tears of pain in the corner of his eyes. "Gah…it's just...ah…it hurts."

"Who healed it?" Sasuke asked, pushing Shinku's jacket off him before pulling his shirt aside in the shoulder area. "Who's the imbecile who thought _stitching_ a shinobi's wound was the smart way to go? And why the hell didn't you stop him and get—"

"Hey guys!" Naruko exclaimed as she landed in front of the two…and then freezing. "Oh," she blinked. "Sorry if I'm interrupting…"

Sasuke and Shinku blinked at the same time, not understanding what she was speaking of, at least, until they stared at one another next. Sasuke had Shinku's jacket in his other hand and was pulling Shinku's shirt. The two of them were extremely close too.

"T-This isn't what your imbecilic mind can think of Dobe!" Sasuke yelled as he let go and jumped a few feet back, dropping Shinku's jacket on the ground. "We were just training!"

"Oh," Naruko smiled with a slightly lecherous grin. "Just training uh? Checking the sizes of the—"

"No," Sasuke snarled. "We were not doing that."

"Sure, sure," Naruko sing-sung, "You were clearly trying to force poor Shin-chan here to do something unspeakable!" Naruko clicked her tongue while shaking her head. "Always reading those perverted books got your head in the gutter Uke-chan."

"Why you," Sasuke growled. "Why are you late to begin with, Bimbo?"

"I waited until a clone popped to warn me that Kakashi left his house," Naruko smiled brightly. "So you said you were training? Not fair! I want to train with Shin-chan too!"

Shinku did not like where it was going _at all_.

"Maybe after we take our first mission," Kakashi's voice came as a grace from the heavens themselves, the silver-haired Jounin walking closer to them with a lazy stroll. "And if you hadn't been late, Naruko, you could have trained too."

Naruko pouted.

Kakashi just sighed and then began to walk once more towards the Hokage tower.

For a good first time, maybe he'd see if Tora was once more free and around Konoha.

He was sure his students were going to love that little furred beast by the end of the day!

**Author's notes**

**Hopefully by mid-september I'll get my hands on a good ergonomic keyboard. Until then long-spans of writing are something atrocious.**

…**if only there was a trusted speech-to-text thing, but as it is…I'll grit my teeth and soldier on.**


	9. In Plain Sight Hide the Truth

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Nine

The Yondaime personally assigned the missions. It was obvious, but when you were in the team with his daughter, things didn't exactly work out in the normal and common way.

There was another flash.

"Mooommmm…" Naruko's high-pitched whine echoed through the room, as the red-haired woman who had presented herself as Naruko's mother took yet one more photo.

"Now come on, it's my baby's first mission 'ttebane! I have to get some photos of it!"

Naruko was actually red from head to toe. "You're embarrassing me 'ttebayo!"

Shinku was the one who'd rather want to crawl in a hole and die. He just wanted to do a mission —the nervousness was killing him. What was he supposed to do? What would their first mission be about? He hoped it would be nothing complicated or above their level. Sure, his teammates were prodigies…but he wasn't.

"Now, Kushina," the Yondaime said kindly, "Kakashi's already late as it is."

"Sniffle," the woman had tears in her eyes, "My little Naru-chan's all grown up now."

"Let's go," Naruko grumbled, grabbing by the sleeve both Sasuke and him —surprisingly— before pulling them out of the room with Kakashi following them after waving goodbye.

Naruko let go of his sleeve, as well as Sasuke's, once they were already way out of the tower. Kakashi slowly reached them, before bonking on the head Naruko with the mission scroll. "Well then," the silver-haired Jounin said, "Here you go. Your first mission is to capture Tora."

Shinku's eyes widened briefly.

They had to capture a tiger?

No, even more…there was a tiger free somewhere!?

Maybe a circus? Was there even a circus in Konoha?

"What? Kakashi-Nii! That's unfair!" Naruko whined, "I heard about him from dad! Why are you punishing us, eh!?"

"First of all, it's Kakashi-sensei," the Jounin remarked. "Secondly, it is punishment. You arrived late today, didn't you?"

"B-But!" Naruko stuttered.

"Dobe, so it's your fault then!" Sasuke snarled. "That…I heard no one captured that cat in less than an hour!"

Shinku swallowed. Then, he blinked. "Cat?" he muttered. He exhaled the next instant. It was just a cat.

Two hours and a half later, with his face bleeding and his sleeves torn, he would not be calling that thing 'just a cat' any longer. Still, he had managed to corner the feline in a dead-end and the rest of the team was converging on the position.

The small radio in his ear buzzed with Naruko's voice.

"Ohi! You got him cornered Shin-chan!?"

"Ah…ah…yes," he exhaled deeply, holding his arms wide as he slowly took a step forward. The cat hissed. Shinku showed his teeth back.

"Hold him there," Sasuke's voice came next. "We're coming."

The cat hissed, showing its claws. "Good kitty," Shinku murmured, trying a smile. "Nice kitty," he added, keeping his hands ready. If only he had a bag of sorts…the job would be over far faster.

Tora jumped once more.

The cat's claws aimed at his face, and Shinku instinctively brought his hands up. This time, instead of ending up with his forearms to shreds because of the cat's onslaught, his knuckles punched the animal straight in the face. It was an accident, but Tora the cat ended up sprawled on the floor meowing softly.

Blinking, Shinku lowered his forearms.

He kneeled next to the downed cat the next instant, grabbing a hold of it by the sides and lifting it up.

"Ah," he exhaled, holding on to the knocked out cold beast. "I got him," he chuckled. "I got him!"

Tora woke up in the next second, and finding itself trapped within a pair of arms, it began to bite in a bid for freedom.

Shinku ground his teeth —the bites of a cat weren't extremely painful, but they did hurt and…and it was as if the cat knew how to make them hurt more. Shinku keeled over, falling on the ground with his knees as he hissed in pain trying to hold the cat down. Blood droplets fell from his arms, but as long as he held on to the cat then the mission was successful.

He was the dead last on many things…

But he would hold _that_ cat within his arms even if it killed him.

"Ah!" he heard Naruko's shrill scream from the start of the alley. "Shin-chan! You didn't have to kill it!" he turned, grimacing as he held on to the thing.

"I've got it," he weakly said. His arms looked flailed, to say the least. Even holding the cat by the neck didn't stop it from scratching with its rear paws, and whenever it could it would bite at his fingers or hands.

The effect was pretty bloody, but the cat remained unscathed.

"I'll hold it," Naruko said, moving closer and grabbing the cat by the scuff of the neck. She smiled then, sweetly, towards Tora. Naruko's right arm began to move fast up and down, as the cat meowed in shock from the way she spun the limb —as if she was going to throw the creature in the air.

"It sounds like a siren!" Naruko chuckled as the cat went 'meowwww' while spinning. "You think if I slam him a bit against the wall he'll feel it?"

"I don't think…we should," Shinku stammered out. "Isn't it…the Daimyo's cat?"

"Ah, well, she can always get another," Naruko shrugged as she stopped mistreating the animal, who actually retched out its breakfast. "Now listen here, fur ball," the girl said, looking straight in the eyes of the cat. "You run away again and I swear next time I'll really fling you against a wall, understood?"

The cat meowed, nodding strongly as it began to sweat.

"Good and now apologize to Shin-chan! Just because he's the dead-last doesn't mean you get to be mean to him!"

The cat actually meowed again in Shinku's direction, with pleading eyes.

Naruko snorted with a knowing nod, before grabbing a gentler hold of the cat. "There, that's how you do it, Shin-chan. If the animal feels your fear then he's going to give you a hard time. Just like fighting sharks, kick their faces and they'll pipe down."

"Fighting…sharks?"

Naruko blinked. "You never fought one? They're pretty common around Uzushiogakure's shores."

"I've never been out of Konoha," Shinku replied, his eyes slowly travelling down to his bleeding arms. Using his index finger and his thumb, he began to pull backwards his sleeves. Really, had the 'beast' steel claws? It had managed to rend through his clothes with ease, as if they were made of paper.

"Once we finish doing these boring D-ranks we'll get a C-rank one! Those are always out of the village and it's going to be fun! It will be like camping, only you go on a trip somewhere else and sometimes you've got to risk your neck doing a mission or another," Naruko nodded to herself, bringing her right hand to her chin as she used her left to 'mark' the important passages. "Then there's the B-ranks and the A-ranks, until you reach the S-ranks which are Kage-level missions or only for highly specialized shinobi."

Sasuke jumped down next to them the next moment.

"Shinku," the Uchiha said. "Where is the cat?"

Shinku blinked. "Isn't it…" he then looked towards Naruko, who looked down at her two free hands.

The girl's shoulders began to tremble as she realized she had let the cat go.

"Dobe? The cat?"

"Ohi! It's not my fault! Well, maybe it is, but! It's not completely my fault! I was explaining mission ranks to Shin-chan!"

Sasuke snorted, and then he gazed back towards Shinku's arms.

"Are you trying to set a record for most hospital visits in a week?"

Kakashi appeared then, holding Tora the cat by the neck and with a bored expression etched on what little of his face was visible.

"It's getting late, and I have better things to do than wait for you lot to capture the cat," he flung Tora at Sasuke, who grabbed it firmly. "So deliver the cat back and then see you all in training ground Seven…at five o'clock this afternoon," he looked towards the sky. "You have two hours to go eat something somewhere."

With that said, he disappeared in a flicker of leaves.

Naruko eyed the cat murderously, before mimicking slicing its neck.

Tora actually meowed for help, holding on to Sasuke's shoulders as if he were his saviour.

"You better be sorry," Naruko hissed. "You better be."

"Let's deliver the cat and then go somewhere to eat," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Last one to the Hokage tower pays for everyone!" Naruko yelled aloud, before flickering away.

"Wait, Dobe!" Sasuke snarled, before growling as he looked back towards Shinku. "You don't know the Shunshin, do you?"

Shinku shook his head.

"Ah," Sasuke exhaled loudly. "Fine. Let's go," and with that, the Uchiha began to walk, quietly followed by Shinku who kept nursing his arms.

"You should get those checked at the hospital," Sasuke said along the way. "Just go in and…"

"Sasuke-sama," an elderly voice said, stopping the Uchiha on his tracks. "Always doing a good action," the voice belonged to an old woman, who seemed to own a stall with fruit on it. "Come get an apple, it's free of charge for you and your friend."

"I'm sorry, but we're on a hurry," Sasuke replied curtly, before beginning to walk once more. Shinku followed quickly, but…

"Sasuke-sama?"

"Sasuke-sama!"

"Sasuke-kun!?"

"Sasuke-sama!"

Shinku actually lost sight of Sasuke halfway through a small crowd of women and girls that formed around him, and in the end, he remained alone at the side of the road. There really was no sign of Sasuke anymore, even when the crowd parted way.

A blond-haired boy calmly stopped right next to him. He was holding Tora the cat in his arms, and his eyes were darkly gazing at the crowd.

"This is why I don't usually walk on the streets," he muttered, "People everywhere."

"If you want to go ahead…" Shinku began, only for Sasuke to snort.

"No thanks, I know how much Naruko eats. I'm not letting you lose without at least a fair chance at the competition."

"T-Thanks?"

"You're welcome."

Shinku mentally sighed in relief. Maybe he was just overthinking it all. He wasn't being pushed away by his teammates, it just happened that _probably_, he didn't speak loud enough to be heard. He just had to soldier on. His arms hurt, but eventually they'd stop hurting.

If all days ended up like this one after all, what was the worst that could happen?

**Author's notes**

**Shinku's a jinxer.**

**As I see it, the Academy can be passed by people of the calibre of **_**Ino**_**, **_**Sakura and Kiba, Ami and the likes. **_**Practically, only Canon-Naruto could fail it.**

**You didn't need 'motivation' to pass Academy. (Sakura and Ino were there for Sasuke) or brain-smarts. Academy was…considering 12-13 age bracket of end, something like a 'obligatory' school that began at five.**

**Like, elementary school+middle school.**


	10. Get Ready To Suffer

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Ten

"Are you gay, Sasuke?" Naruko asked pointedly, staring straight in the eyes of the Uchiha.

"I find your method of hazing horrible, Dobe," Sasuke replied firmly. "I know how much you eat," he remarked. "And I'm not going to stand by and watch when my police instincts tell me when there's to right a wrong."

Naruko grumbled looking away, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Just you wait until he starts asking you favours," she said. "I'm not going to trust him for a long time."

"There's a difference, Dobe, between not trusting someone and hazing him. What next, you're going to have him carry your stuff?"

Naruko's eyes shone for a moment. "It's not a bad idea," she remarked, "Not a bad idea at all."

It was then that the hospital room opened up, to let out an arm bandaged Shinku Haruno. He awkwardly smiled as he slowly walked near them.

"Ah…seems I'll be fine by tomorrow," he acquiesced.

"No chakra healing, again? You've got something against it?" Sasuke retorted.

"N-No, it's just the medic said they keep it for the emergencies or the dangerous wounds…training wounds are nothing to worry about," Shinku was quick in answering. Sasuke frowned, before grounding his teeth and giving a curt nod of understanding.

"Ohi! Let's move," exclaimed Naruko, "I'm already hungry 'ttebayo!"

"You're always hungry, Bimbo," Sasuke snorted. "You're an endless pit. The moment you'll grow fat and begin to roll, I'll tie a chain to your mouth and use you as a wrecking ball."

Naruko snickered back, before slapping her rear. "A girl doesn't get fat, she gets curves!"

"If you're actually a girl I'm a Yaoi lover," Sasuke stated plainly.

She looked from him to Shinku with an appraising glance.

The next moment, she winced as Sasuke's fist collided with her head. "Really!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Ichiraku Ramen then! Let's go or we're going to be late!" and with that, Naruko fist-pumped and flickered away the moment she was out of the hospital.

Sasuke followed with a flicker of his own, and Shinku…well, Shinku walked.

The streets, so late during the day, had people returning home or families coming back from the park. Ichiraku's ramen wasn't that far away from the hospital, but in the time it took for him to reach it, he found himself in a line.

He couldn't see his teammates, and he certainly couldn't hear them. Maybe they had seen the line and gone elsewhere, or maybe…maybe they had just stepped inside before. As it was, he was glad when the line finally dwindled down and it was his turn to order.

"Take Away only!" the girl at the counter said with a bubbly smile. "All seats taken," she added then. The counter indeed brimmed with shinobi and civilians alike, and the place was packed with other people waiting for their own turn.

"Pork ramen," he said, paying and then patiently waiting his turn for the takeaway cup and chopsticks. As he walked out, once more in the middle of the road, he began to frown and gaze upwards. It wasn't yet seven o'clock. He didn't want to think badly about it, but really…hadn't the other two just upped and disappeared?

He reached training ground Seven with an hour to spare, and as he sat down with his back resting against the wooden pole that practically was 'his' he sighed.

At least the ramen was still warm by the time he snapped the chopsticks and began to eat.

Sasuke Uchiha watched from a nearby tree the scene, and then turned his gaze towards Naruko. "Happy now?"

Naruko huffed, shaking her head. "It means nothing. Just because he remained in line means nothing."

She had a bag of takeaway ramen in her arms, as she slowly opened another cup to eat.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, holding on to his own. "I don't know how you managed to rope me in on this."

"Well, I told you we were going to be late if we didn't hurry. That's why you moved all the way till here," Naruko remarked. "And eating on a tree is common enough in the shinobi force —better than chairs for some."

"You could wave at him at least," Sasuke pointed out, eying Shinku down below.

"Nope," Naruko replied with a shrug. "He's a Genin, not a toddler. Frankly, I'd be angry already at being stood up. He'll just forgive us because we're awesome and he's not, and then you'll see I was right."

"Or maybe he's really just shy, and you're acting like a two-ryo bully," Sasuke deadpanned. "You are saying you're sorry about leaving without waiting for him."

"Meh," Naruko muttered. "It's all your fault anyway, Uke-chan. If you had just run ahead, then he'd have ended up paying the Ramen. As it was, I couldn't let him leech off you."

"From the smell, I'd say a Pork ramen isn't 'leeching off' as much as simply having the same thing he had the last time we went there."

"Details," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Leeches and fleas are everywhere. You need to be careful on who to trust, or you'll just get hurt in the end."

"You're reaching paranoia-levels, Dobe," Sasuke replied. "Just look at him. He wouldn't hurt a fly."

"You remember Hinata?" Naruko retorted. "Shy and meek, but in the end it was her father's will to get her close to us. She just used us to get in his good graces."

"Is that why you stopped talking to her?"

"Like Ino, the bitch," Naruko continued, "wanting to be 'best friends forever' lasted until a guy came close enough for her to swoon over. When the guy came onto me, then she began listing my defects," Naruko snorted. "And there's Kiba who's a mutt in heat, then there's Shikamaru who's just a lazy smartass. I heard him say 'Troublesome, she gets nice marks with little effort because of her surname' 'ttebayo!"

"You sure he said that?"

"Something similar to his mother," Naruko muttered. "I'm sure he just needs someone to talk with, and then you'll see how he opens up and starts spewing his 'I'm in the team with the two prodigies, please lick my shoes' or something like that."

"You understand I'm an Uchiha, and I was trained in profiling like any other Uchiha in the police force?" Sasuke remarked. "And if I tell you he doesn't strike me like that type…"

"I'll just say you need to stop being an Uke and open your damn eyes. Trust me, Duckbutt," she mumbled. "I'm going to prove he's just a leech, even if it's the last thing I do 'ttebayo."

Sasuke sighed. There was no way he'd manage to convince Naruko she was wrong. The girl always had to end up headfirst against walls before she learned how to avoid them.

He finished his own ramen, and then flickered down in front of Shinku.

"Sorry," Sasuke said as he appeared in front of the startled boy. "There were so many people we just ordered and then dashed off. We couldn't wait for you there because they kept pestering us."

Shinku just awkwardly nodded, while Naruko appeared a second later still scarfing down on her ramen.

"Yup. Shorry Shin-schan!"

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Dobe!" Sasuke snarled.

Kakashi Hatake appeared at seven o'clock precise in front of his team, holding on to a single backpack.

"Very well team! Follow me!"

As the man began to walk, and the Genin followed, Shinku had a bad feeling. The feeling intensified the more they walked towards the borders of the village, and by the time they passed the gates, he actually began to sweat.

"Ohi, Kakashi-Nii? Where the hell are we going?" Naruko asked, warily looking at the sun dying over the horizon.

"To a fun place!" Kakashi replied jovially. "I'll make sure to get you all trained up. If I have to stop being a freeloader, then I want you all to feel a bit of my despair, Fufufu!"

"Did he just go 'fufufu' on us?" Sasuke whispered to Naruko.

"I think he snapped," Naruko swallowed hard. "Ehi, isn't this way the one for…"

Then Kakashi stopped, bringing his right arm up to gesture at a tall fence gate.

"Welcome to your home away from home for the next month! Rather than let you waste your time on boring D-ranks, the Hokage and I came up with a solution to challenge both the two 'prodigies' and ensure teambuilding!"

Shinku felt suddenly very afraid.

"Your parents were forewarned of course," Kakashi added then, "But as you're all Genin now, you're all my little soldiers! If I want to train you on boiling lava, then I'll do just that!"

"Kakashi-Nii…don't you think you're taking things too far?" Naruko said then hesitantly.

"Uhm…you said something?" Kakashi replied, holding on to his _Icha-Icha Gore fest Two-Thousand_.

The Jounin stopped in front of a gate with a black Four painted on its surface. "This, here, is Training Ground Forty-Four!"

Naruko blinked.

"No," she said quite firmly.

"This is kidnapping," Sasuke deadpanned.

Shinku just kept on swallowing his saliva.

"Also known as the Training Ground of Death! And for an entire month, instead of doing stupid D-ranks, you will have to survive in here! There's no better teacher than life itself, no better education than being left alone and unsupervised in the middle of the most dangerous stretch of forest around Konoha! And frankly, it gives me free time to do more important stuff!"

"So that's your reason!?" Sasuke screamed, pointing a finger at Kakashi. "You lazy bastard!"

"Meh," Kakashi shrugged. "You've all received enough training to be well-fit veteran Genin," the Jounin commented, "And frankly, pulling Shinku up to par wouldn't help teambuilding so…it's your call! Train him or leave him as he is, in one month of time I'll come back."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Ero-sennin's latest book coming out tomorrow, right Kakashi-Nii?" Naruko asked quietly.

"If I were you I'd move inside while there's still some light!" Kakashi cheerfully added. "But then again…" he clapped his hands, "If I did that then you'd find the way out in less than a month!"

"Uh, ehi Kaka—" a fist slammed in Naruko's guts, knocking the girl out before the silver-haired lunatic brought his other hand down on Sasuke's neck. Then, the last thing Shinku saw was a fist coming straight for his forehead.

His last thought…was that he wanted to go home.

**Author's notes**

…**I'm not doing the Wave Arc.**

**Too many people do the Wave Arc. If you want the Wave Arc, just point it out between this chapter and the one at the end of the thirty-days and I'll cook some angst up for a Different-Wave Arc. Or not.**

**In before the 'Trained from hell makes him uber'. No. Snort. No. No training from hell will end well. At all. **


	11. Everyday Is Hell

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Eleven

The ground was soft. The tickling sensation on his face woke him up with a light grunt. Shinku's eyes opened to stare at the snaking tongue of dark green snake, whose yellow tinted eyes fixed on him. He frowned.

There was a snake on his chest.

"Don't. Move." Sasuke's voice reached him as he hastily obliged —not that he actually needed encouragement. The kick sent the snake flying away, as Shinku stood up as fast as he could after that. Frightened, he looked around. The green luscious branches of the forest welcomed him, as the dark shade so typical of being beneath a canopy kept everything in a permanent state of shadows.

He swallowed nervously as he looked towards Sasuke. "Wh…Where?" his head hurt, pulsing with agony as he kept his left eye closed. Gingerly touching the spot, he found it enflamed and painful.

"The bastard knocked us out," Sasuke remarked. "The Dobe is up and about already," the Uchiha snorted.

"It's…day?" Shinku asked blearily, looking around.

"Yes," Sasuke said crisply. "Day one out of thirty," with that, he pointed to a tackle on the nearby trunk. "Thankfully we have our training gear with us," the boy snorted. "I'm sure that by now Naruko's already captured half of the forest."

"We really…have to stay here for…a month?" Shinku stammered out, gazing at the general direction where the snake had been 'kicked'.

"Naruko sent a few clones to try and get them outside. Apparently, Kakashi roped in a few Anbu trainees who needed some training in subdual techniques. They'll patrol the premises of the training ground, and if we try to leave they'll subdue us and then leave us somewhere in the middle of the forest."

Sasuke grunted. "Better to just follow the rules for the moment. It's not that bad, if you've gone camping."

"I never went camping," Shinku muttered back.

"Then just follow my lead. As it is," Sasuke looked at his arms, "You're a weight."

Shinku flinched, but stood his ground. "We're going to change that," Sasuke acquiesced. "Let's get started with catching some food first," he beckoned him to follow.

"You know how throwing a kunai isn't something shinobi should do, because it's imprecise?" Sasuke began, slowly walking through the undergrowth with Shinku in tow. "Well, forget about it. Any weapon you can throw is throw-able," curtly, he gripped his own kunai and twirled it with his index finger. "You just need enough training to throw it well."

Sasuke stopped the next moment, getting down on one knee in the middle of the bushes. With a quick jab, he pulled Shinku down next to him and then made the sign for 'silence'. Using his index and middle finger, Sasuke pointed towards a menacing looking boar rustling through the grass a few feet away.

Shinku watched anxiously as Sasuke slowly crept forward, kunai in hand. Contrary to his words, rather than throwing the kunai he simply jumped on the back of the beast in question and plunged the weapon quickly in its eye.

Shinku blinked. "Is that how you…throw a kunai?"

Sasuke snorted. "No, but I wasn't going to let our lunch and dinner pass us by like this," he pulled himself up from the boar's corpse, "And I know these beasts have tough hides."

He moved near the bleeding corpse, a nauseous grimace on his face. "Well, don't just stand there. Come down here and help me skin it."

"Skin it?" Shinku blearily eyed the carcass, before getting down on one knee on the other side of it.

"Really," Sasuke snorted, "It's not difficult. Anyone can do it. Just plunge the knife lightly inside and rip the skin off. You don't need to make a pelt or something…just take the skin away and get the meat, before his mother or father comes back."

Looking around for an instant, Shinku muttered. "Can't we move it?"

"To where? Blood would attract predators if we brought it back to camp as is. We're taking the meat, heading to the river, washing it off and then and _only then_ are we going back to camp."

Shinku eyed the carcass, and the tip of his kunai. He pushed the metal instrument into the sides of the beast, hissing in disgust as he pulled it out a moment later.

"No, no…you don't pierce the meat, you slice it," Sasuke illustrated, "Place your thumb here, near the start of the blade. Don't worry, you aren't going to cut yourself if you do it properly. Hold the skin steady with your other hand and…rip!" with a single swipe, Sasuke peeled a large chunk of skin off the boar's corpse. "There, see? It's not difficult."

Blood was covering Sasuke's shorts and arms, but the boy seemed to be completely ignoring it.

"Move it before the flies decide to come in with the predators."

Closing his eyes, Shinku began quietly to whimper. He could feel vomit reach the back of his throat, before he grabbed on the skin and plunged the kunai in by the side. He pulled then, the skin giving way easily together with bits and pieces of meat.

His hands were crimson now.

"Well," Sasuke commented. "It's enough I suppose." The boy unpacked a heavy hemp sack from one of his pockets…Shinku blinked.

"Where…"

"Oh, storage seals," Sasuke replied. "My mother is a friend of Naruko's mother, who is an Uzumaki —they've got an affinity for Fuinjutsu or whatever. Naruko's an idiotic bimbo, but having her as a friend means that for the first years of my life half of my birthday gifts were seal-related."

Carefully, both boys filled the hemp sack.

"Now we bring this," he pointed to the filled bag, which had both perfectly cut meat —Sasuke's— and completely horrible —Shinku's— inside, "To the river."

He handed it over to Shinku, who grabbed it.

"Hold on to it. I'll be on the lookout while you head that way," he pointed in the direction of the river, before flickering out in a bunch of leaves.

Shinku gazed at the boar's carcass for one moment more, before starting to walk towards the body of water.

He would not retch.

He was not going to puke his guts out. He could hold it. He could hold his breakfast and lunch inside. He could do it.

Sasuke pinned Naruko against the trunk of the nearby tree and growled, from his spot atop one of the highest branches.

"This is ludicrous," he snorted. "I'm not going to stand by and watch you act like a…a Dobe!"

"What? All I'm saying is that Kakashi-Nii didn't force us to teach him anything and he also will have a system to keep us guarded twenty-four hours a day.."

"Are you a moron?" Sasuke growled. "Do you have any idea what it means? We are in the _Forest of Death_, not taking a nice and comfortable vacation on Uzushiogakure's shores! There are things in here that I'm afraid of too! And you want to let the dead last of the Academy go _on his own_? What the hell, Naruko! _What. The. Hell!_"

"If he gets in enough danger, then maybe Kakashi-Nii will change his idea."

"Oh, right, and why him?" Sasuke snorted. "Why don't you offer yourself up as a bait for whoever is supposed to guard us?"

"Ah, you know they'd just scoff. I can heal pretty much anything. We just need to make sure Shinku's wounded enough to require the hospital. We can just let him be and watch him from afar."

"No," Sasuke shook his head firmly. "I'm with you on a lot of things, I can close my eyes on others, but this is a no. You don't play with other peoples' lives like this."

"This isn't about playing, 'ttebayo!" Naruko exclaimed. "Come on! He'll be fine! There's two of us, plus whoever is guarding us all. We can just let Shinku head towards a cave or something, scream for help and then let the Anbu deal with it while we make a run for the exit."

"Are you listening to yourself!?" Sasuke hissed. "Where does 'Teamwork' enter the equation with what you're proposing!?"

"You have to trust your teammates, and I don't trust him!" Naruko ground out. "You can't trust everyone!"

"We already went through this once!" Sasuke snarled. "I'm not the only trustworthy person in the world, Naruko!"

"I don't…I just," she wringed her hands. "What if he ends up being just like any other parasite? Any other leech that just wants to be near us for what we have? I don't want another flea on my back. I'd like a friend different from Uke-chan of course but…hell, even Hinata was one. Do you know what it means? How can you trust anyone after discovering that, uh!?"

"A person is innocent," Sasuke deadpanned, "Until he is found guilty. You will give him a fair trial, Naruko. Or I swear I will…" he turned around then, looking down towards the thick canopy of leaves that now separated him from seeing further down below.

"Shit," Sasuke cursed before jumping down to push his head under the leaves, his feet holding on to the side of the tree trunk with chakra. "Shit!"

"Did we lose him?" Naruko asked, her head coming down next to Sasuke's. The Uchiha growled.

"No time to lose, let's go!"

He stopped after a few steps, looking back towards the hesitant form of Naruko. "Oh, for the love of…" he pointed his finger at her. "Come on! Just…just give him a chance!"

"One," Naruko said firmly. "I'm giving him one chance," she mumbled. "Only because you insist," she jumped to end on the same branch as Sasuke. "But if he burns that bridge, then I'm done."

"Fine," Sasuke snapped back. "Now move your lazy and fat ass!"

Shinku completely ignored the discussion way above and far from him. He was, after all, at the river.

It was also, coincidentally, the drinking hour of the tiger pack.

He did the only thing any sane person would do, when found with a bag of _still_ _bleeding_ raw meat in their hands by a hungry group of feral tigers twice the size of a human being.

Shinku screamed like a man possessed, throwing the bag of meat in the air as he began to run in the opposite direction with the roars of the tigers hot on his heels.

Therefore, this was how he died —mauled to death by tigers in the Forest of Death. He was going to die. He, Shinku Haruno, was going to die eaten by the tigers. He began to cry, as his breathing grew ragged. He could hear the strong paws of the pursuing tigers moving nearer with every passing instant, as blood rushed to his ears carrying the sound of his erratic heart.

He didn't want to die. He jumped over a dead trunk of a tree and rolled down a small dishevelment, before taking a sharp turn around a giant tree trunk and keeping up his pace. The tigers looked bulky. He hoped they could not…make sharp twists. Their nearing roars told him it didn't actually matter.

Shinku tripped over a root, the speed he was going at propelling him face first on the ground as he rolled, wobbling back to his feet with enough speed to make him look like a gymnast who was doing it on purpose. He wasn't, but fear of death was a great motivator.

His sight began to wane from the effort of running as his sides hurt from the dash. The growling, as suddenly as it grew louder, stopped.

Shinku didn't stop for a long time, but when he finally did and fell down on his knees, he gagged and retched on the floor. He closed his eyes, expecting a tiger to maul him within the next second, but when nothing came, he hesitantly opened his eyes.

He was…well, he was safe.

He was also lost.

Still, he was safe.

He was lost.

"C-calm down," Shinku muttered. "Calm down and everything will be fine," he mumbled, looking around. "We'll get out of here, Shinku," he added as an afterthought. "Maybe this is a fucking Genjutsu," he whispered as his eyes widened. "Yeah…this could be a Genjutsu. I'm probably looking like an idiot right now."

He exhaled, chuckling. The next moment he brought his hands up in the 'Kai' symbol.

"Let's get out of this nightmare," he muttered. "Kai!"

Nothing happened.

"Of course," he mumbled. "Don't pronounce it, you idiot. He'll just reapply it."

He tried once more, and nothing happened again.

"Again, you need something to distrust the illusion," he croaked. "Something, anything…believe it a lie. It's just the first day. You can do this," he mumbled. "You can't be lost on the first day," he added. "It's a forest, it's a training ground…they've got to have people training in here, right?"

He closed his eyes. "Anbu trainee? Anyone?" he hazarded, his voice cracking. "Anyone mind taking pity on me and telling me where my teammates are?"

There was no reply.

"I…well, I suppose I should thank you for the tigers then?" he hazarded. "I mean, unless they've gone from quiet to silently prowling behind my back," Shinku added. "It would be appreciated if you gave me a sign of that being the case," he muttered to no one in particular. Hearing his voice soothed him. Sure, speaking to oneself was a sign of madness, but he liked having a tiny voice in his head telling him everything was going to be fine even when it wasn't going to be. It kept him sane and happy.

He liked being sane and happy.

He disliked being lost, hungry, in the middle of a Forest of Death, because his god-damn sensei thought he'd survive whatever training the two prodigies would go through in here. He had skinned a boar! He, son of bakers, had skinned a boar!

They could have asked him to make some dough or bake bread!

He knew how to bake a frigging piece of bread, but did people ask him about that!? NO! They asked him how to skin a frigging boar!

He began to giggle. "They never care about bread," he pushed his back against the nearby tree. "Ah…" he exhaled, "I'm thirsty," he muttered. He wasn't going to return to the river, not after his run in with the tigers.

Wasn't Sasuke supposed to be on the lookout? Couldn't he have swooped down to save him? He had dug him out from the ground once —he should have totally returned the deal.

He didn't want to be in the team. He'd rather go back to the Academy. It was so nice, the Academy.

The Academy was a nice place, filled with laughter, people playing, doing homework being the most 'stressful' event. Why the hell did he follow through with the Academy? He could have been eating lunch at home, alone but relatively unharmed, rather than being dead tired and covered in animal blood near a tree where…

…where a snake was slowly slithering down towards him from above.

Shinku Haruno's ragged breaths stilled in his throat as he watched the reptile slowly descend towards him, hissing. His right hand fumbled for the kunai's handle, until he gripped on the weapon tightly. His knuckles turned white as he began to shudder, holding his eyes open.

He was not going to die because a snake was hungry.

If he survived, however…

He was going to punch Sasuke in the guts.

If this was how the Uchiha did the 'lookout'…then he was the goddamn future Godaime Hokage.

**Author's notes**

**Anyone guess when 'Inner Shinku' comes out to play? I'm not Bolding anything for Inner/Outer. It's pretty clear I suppose where one barges in on the other. (Follow the swear words)**

**Funnily enough, Sakura's motivation for ninja was only Sasuke. Shinku's…he'll have to do Soul Searching to find it. Which isn't bad…means character development.**

**Fun facts: Tigers can run up to thirty miles per hour…but only for ten minutes. An average human can run ten miles per hour (if pressed a bit more).**


	12. Never Say Pain Has a Limit

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twelve

The snake's jaws distended slowly, its entire body falling down sharply to engulf and devour him whole. He closed his eyes, expecting to feel the crushing weight of the beast on his body. When he opened them, he was on a nearby tree branch, with Naruko holding him from one side as Sasuke did the same from the other.

"Ohi Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, with her bright smile, "Sorry we're late!"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke's voice came to his side. "I lost sight of you midway through…where's the meat?"

No 'are you all right' uh. Shinku breathed in deeply, before muttering. "Tigers."

"Oh," Naruko blinked. "Well! I've got some rabbits!" Naruko exclaimed then. "No need for the meat!"

"We need to wash off before returning to camp," Sasuke commented, eying Naruko wearily. "And no, this isn't an excuse for boy-love bullshit, Dobe."

"I said nothing," Naruko mumbled, "Absolutely nothing."

Shinku kept breathing rapidly, his sight waning in front of him. He was alive.

It was a wonderful feeling, being alive.

It was extremely exhilarating surviving a giant snake.

"If…" he croaked out, "If this is…how you _look out_," he giggled, "Then you need glasses."

Sasuke blinked.

"Ohi, he said he's sorry Shin-chan!"

"Ah," Shinku exhaled. "Yes," he chuckled. "He did."

"Was that a try at bantering?" Sasuke inquired calmly, "Because it frankly lacked a lot of appeal."

"You try…being sarcastic," Shinku muttered back, "after surviving…a giant snake."

"It wasn't even that big!" Naruko exclaimed. "I heard there are some snakes as big as the trees themselves."

Shinku didn't reply. He just collapsed on the branch and heaved out what little his stomach still had. His fingers grasped at the branch's bark, feeling the splinters of wood beneath his digits. He coughed out, spitting the aftertaste of vomit and holding his eyes closed.

He shuddered.

"Ohi! Don't die on me Shin-chan! Not now that you've found your sarcasm!" Naruko yelled at his ear, strongly patting his back —it actually hurt. "Why, oh cruel world? His sarcasm was so young!"

"Can you stop talking for a moment?" Sasuke grumbled. "We need to get away from here and back to camp," the Uchiha looked around. "Can you tree-walk?"

He shook his head.

"Teaching stuff is harder than I thought," Sasuke grumbled. "Well…I'll go and make sure the river's clear," he looked at Naruko. "You can take care of him?"

"I caught the rabbits," Naruko stated plainly, "Shouldn't I cook them?"

"Your cooking is considered a weapon of mass destruction, Dobe," Sasuke snorted. "Don't you remember the Kunoichi teacher? 'Do not let her near the kitchen! Save yourself if she does!' She was pretty incensed about that."

"She was just an old crone who couldn't understand my art," Naruko sniffled. "Ramen is good with everything."

"Which is why I'm cooking and you're the one teaching him how to walk on trees."

"Fine," Naruko pouted. "I'll remember this when I'll have my own Ramen-only franchise, and your name will be among those not welcomed inside."

"You mean I'd be the sole survivor of the apocalypse?" Sasuke retorted. "Thank god for small graces then," a bunch of dead rabbits exchanged hands, and then Sasuke was off.

"Now Shin-chan," Naruko said, getting down near him. "We've got to teach you how to climb on trees with chakra," she added soothingly, "You think you can do it?"

Shinku swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. He'd rather have a cup of water or something solid in his stomach, but he stood back up hesitantly.

"Y-yes."

"Very well then!" Naruko clapped her hands, "Now, let's head over to the trunk," she pushed him gently but firmly towards the point where the branch they stood upon connected to the tree, before moving right next to him and planting her right foot on it.

"See? If you apply the right amount of chakra, you can stick to trees. Dunno why though, something about chakra being naturally cohesive or some theory stuff like that."

"Chakra tends…to be absorbed and dispersed," Shinku muttered, "Generating suction as it goes."

"Yeah, well, we don't care about that now," Naruko shrugged. "Just, let a bit of chakra out of your foot, and keep increasing it until you feel there's enough to let it stick to the trunk."

Carefully, Shinku did just that.

His foot actually held on to the bark with relative ease. He could do this! It didn't seem that difficult.

"Now, the other foot, just like learning to walk Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, as he quietly put the next foot on the tree bark. In that moment, the rest of his body tensed, as he had to fight against gravity to hold on. He gasped for air as blood rushed to his head, until finally he fell down with his back against the branch.

"And here's where the donkey falls, Shin-chan," Naruko said sagely. "If you aren't fast enough, you don't get enough momentum to defeat gravity and you fall back down from the effort to remain up!" she smiled, "And that's why you need to run on it —which makes it even more difficult!"

The way she said it with excitement in her voice made him wince. What was there of funny in being half-starved, thirsty, and forced to run on a tree defying gravity in order to…why was he even learning that to begin with? Oh, right, to survive the damn forest…in which he wouldn't have ended up in if he had been in a normal, average team.

It pissed him off.

He looked at the tree trunk once more, and then closed his eyes for an instant. He could do it.

He could do this in a single, fluid motion, and then show them. He could…he began to run, before taking a light jump and then planting his right foot on the tree bark. The next moment, he slipped.

In the next second, he fell back down. Air left his lungs as he fell once more against the branch, his entire body quaking, as he could no longer move his legs. Well, no, he could feel his legs, but they were trembling just like the rest of his body.

"Nice try Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, clapping her hands. "You want to get this done before tonight, or you're going to take a nap now?" she added then. "Sasuke and I managed this in one hour! So come on, Shin-chan! You can do it!"

Slowly, he stood up once more.

One hour became two.

Two hours became five.

Sasuke had returned with the cooked food, and had distributed it by what appeared to be lunch hour. He had never been a fussy eater, but even he wouldn't have normally eaten the _eyes_ of a charred rabbit. By the time he actually rested and ate, he didn't even care about the small bones.

"Ohi, breathe! You're going to choke on it!" Naruko exclaimed, as Shinku swallowed another bite, before falling in a wracking fit of coughs.

"Told ya," Naruko stated. "Hey," she frowned. "Where's your canteen?"

"Eh?"

"Canteen. Flask. You know —your trustworthy metal container where you can put water to boil inside?" Naruko hazarded.

"I left it…at home," Shinku muttered. Naruko groaned.

"Really? No, really? It's one of the things you never leave behind! I mean, at least during training! What the hell were you planning to use to drink from during training, uh? Water bottles?"

"I wasn't thinking…I'd end up here," Shinku replied quietly, looking around.

"A shinobi should look underneath the underneath and prepare for the unexpected," Naruko quoted. "You're lucky I forgot mine too."

Sasuke made a half-strangled sound, before wringing his hands up in the air.

"I'm surrounded by idiots!" he growled. "Idiots, outright idiots," he exhaled. "Very well then, I will share my canteen with you lot…but it is not an indirect kiss," he gazed at Naruko, "Especially not between me and Shinku."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruko giggled looking sideways, "Of course it isn't."

"Enough," Sasuke muttered. "You keep on training," he gazed at Shinku, "I'll be on the lookout for a place to spend the night."

"Oh! I'll leave a Kage Bunshin here," Naruko shrugged. "Shin-chan, just don't get in trouble! If anything bad happens I'll know when the Bunshin pops anyway," with that said, a clone of Naruko appeared right next to him.

He blinked. Weren't Bunshin supposed to be illusions?

Both flickered away, and Shinku remained there. Still thirst as hell itself, with his throat parched and the aftertaste of rabbit in his mouth. His stomach no longer grumbled…but he would have killed for a bottle of water.

"Back to climbing the tree Shin-chan!" the clone remarked, clapping its hands. "Come on, I know you can do it."

Taking a sigh, Naruko-clone sat down on the branch, letting her legs dangle. "Boring…" she mumbled as she watched him go once more up the tree…and then come crashing down.

It was starting to get dangerous actually, since he was taking a few more steps up than in the beginning. Well, there was no better instructor than pain anyway. She just had to make sure he didn't fall head first.

"Remember, you need to keep the chakra distribution even! Don't try and see it as an 'on' and 'off' thing. Try and thing of the right amount to apply, the one where you use a bit of strength to pull you free yet you still need enough you don't slip."

She was running out of suggestions. Really, teaching was not her way —and Kakashi-Nii was a bastard. Wasn't he the one supposed to teach?

She was going to give him a chance. Only one of course, but if he did fail, then she was out. She'd plant a majestic fuss to get him off her team. Herself, Kakashi-Nii and Sasuke were more than enough anyway for whatever D or C rank there was.

Shinku was starting to relax. The training hurt and his back pleaded mercy, but at the very least, there were no animals and he could see with the back of his eyes Naruko standing guard. No giant snakes, no tigers, nothing wanting his hide was present around him for what he hoped were miles.

He could finally work on something boring, easy and repetitive. Little by little, he knew he was making progress, and that was enough.

He didn't have an enormous dream like those of his teammates. He didn't want to be Hokage or Chief of the police. He didn't want to be something as preposterous as the second coming of a Sannin or whatever. Shinku just wanted to have a normal life, get a spot as a desk-Chuunin or even an Academy teacher and live it out the rest of his life.

Steady salary, medical insurance and discounts were all nice things to have, and then, maybe, put up a family. His extremely boring and average dream was all he had wished for.

Of course, it had gone out of the window the moment he ended up in the team with the two prodigies. They'd probably become Chuunin at the first moment available, and then they'd aim for Jounin and whatnot. They'd take on missions ranging from saving princesses to fighting off powerful enemies…and since teams were rarely split up, he'd have to follow like a kicked dog… unless he left the team.

That would be even worse. He supposed there were people who would have killed to be in his position, and if the rumour mill of Konoha was anything to go by, everyone would make him a social pariah for the 'affront' of leaving the team of the daughter of the Yondaime and the son of the Chief of the Police.

He was between two fires. His only way out was to become a Chuunin and disappear in the middle of deskwork. Boring, maybe…but it was his own decision what to do with his life.

If he wanted to live the fulfilling life of the average Chuunin, why would anyone say anything against it?

"That's how you do it Shin-chan!" Naruko's voice brought him back from his musing. Long enough to realize he was actually at three-fourths of the tree's next branch. His concentration slipped then.

He began to fall.

"GAH!" he screamed as he fell, flailing his arms around wildly.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you! I'll—"

He hit something hard then, and as the impact knocked the air out of his lungs, a heavy plume of smoke surrounded him. He collapsed on the branch, holding on to his side and hissing in pain.

It was in that moment that one of the tree's leeches from the treetop fell down with a wet 'thud' a few feet away from him.

The leech was as big as a small dog, and the way it advanced spitting out and frothing —just how much those things ate to get that big— clearly wasn't amicable.

Still, the creature wasn't all that big. He could take it. He could defeat the leech. He had a kunai, and the thing was incredibly slow. It wouldn't take anything to kill it, would it?

The image of the dead boar and its corpse flashed in his mind.

"Come on Shinku," he muttered taking a step backwards. "It's just a leech. You can do it," he whispered. "It doesn't even have hands," he added. "Does it even have a brain?"

He swallowed nervously, and then cautiously inched further away. "You're running away from a leech, Shinku," he growled. "Come on, be a man…it's just a leech —as tall as a dog, a really big dog, but just a leech."

Then the leech brought its 'head' upwards, showing a long circular mouth filled with sharp and thin fangs that just seemed to have come out of a horror film, with saliva spewing mixed with blood.

Shinku emitted a light and shrill scream before running on the other side of the branch shrieking.

"AHHHH!" he jumped without even thinking once he reached the edge of the branch, his feet flailing wildly in mid-air before landing with a sickening thud against the trunk of another tree. He ran all the way up, actually managing the feat previously failed as fear fuelled in him a single desire…

To get out of there.

He gripped tightly on the treetop, his arms holding on out of his own sheer will. It didn't matter if it was chilly, that high above, and he didn't care if his teammates couldn't find him. He was alive, escaping that eldritch monstrosity that could not be 'natural' no matter how much one insisted.

"Alive, alive, alive," he mumbled to himself. "I'm alive in hell," he gurgled. "I swear, if I get out of here alive," he continued, "I'm…I'm…I'm going to punch that man," he thought about the silver-haired Jounin. "I'm going to burn his books and wipe that smile off his face even if…even if it's the last thing I do because…" he shuddered, even though the sun's rays pleasantly warmed his back. "Because you don't place people here. You don't."

He began to sniffle. "What sane person throws children in the middle of this forest? What normal human being does this?" tears brimmed from his eyes as he spoke, "Who sends their children in the middle of this place of hell? Who?"

"Let's get out of here," he mumbled. "Please?"

"Because they're going to let you," he added. "Aren't there Anbu trainee patrolling? Really? What if it's a lie? No, it can't be…so what? We stay here hugging this treetop?"

"I find it extremely comfortable," he retorted to himself, "Extremely safe and extremely satisfying as a bed."

"That's because you're holding on to it so tightly you aren't even feeling your blood flow," he snorted. "And you're talking alone, up here, to no one in particular. This is the definition of sanity, you know?"

"You survive a giant leech with fangs!" he shrilly replied, "Then you can come and talk of sanity with me! Who the hell leaves a place like this standing to begin with? It's not a training ground, it's a monster factory!"

He began to sob. "I want to go home," he coughed. "I just…why me? They could have given them another prodigy, to hell with that tradition! I tried! I tried not to be the dead last! Damn it, it was even supposed to be easy! Hibachi had said he was failing on purpose!" he pushed his head against the treetop. "I'm not leaving this place, to hell with everyone else."

He closed his eyes. "A man can survive a month without food and a week without water."

He exhaled, trying to calm his heart from exploding in his chest. "Just twenty-nine days to go," he croaked. "The sun is high, so night is coming…just twenty-eight and something days to go…you can do…it," he murmured.

Meanwhile, hidden a few branches below, Kakashi Hatake just hummed pleasantly as he closed his book…night was coming.

It was time to show the kids what teamwork was all about.

**Author's notes**

**Anyone…remembers *Chuckles* *laughs evilly* remembers… *AHAHAHAHAHAHA* the…Full Metal Alchemist… * AHHUMWUAHUAHAU* night…time…on the…island?**

**Welcome to Hell.**

**Let us break your minds.**


	13. Treasure Your Self

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirteen

"Wait," Naruko's ears twitched. "I think I heard something."

Sasuke growled, but otherwise remained quiet. Naruko sniffed the air for a moment more, before bringing her eyes upwards. "Found him," she said then plainly.

Sasuke's own gaze went upwards, before the Uchiha cursed.

"How did he get up there?"

"Uhm, good question," Naruko mumbled. "I thought I had left him there," she pointed to a branch on another tree. "I mean, he did fall on my clone there."

"You couldn't have helped him in another way, right?" Sasuke grumbled. "Like, walking up next to him and holding him by the hand if he slipped?"

"Well…that would have been boring and long! I told him to run it up and keep his head safe when he fell down. He was nearly on top too when he last fell."

"Naruko," Sasuke growled. "You're being insufferable lately."

"And you're being a Yaoi-Lover, Uke-chan," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Why are you so nice to him to begin with? You're generally all 'Stay out of my personal space or I will kill you with my death glare'."

"I thoroughly checked his background, and he came back clean," Sasuke deadpanned. "And I gave him the benefit of doubt and…"

"Ah, ah, stop bullshitting me please," Naruko shook her head. "The real reason or I'm telling Shin-chan you've got a crush on him…" she blinked once, "You don't really have a crush on him, right?"

"No, I don't," Sasuke hissed. "It's just…I can relate," he exhaled. "He will be compared to us, prodigies that are probably to him like some sort of insurmountable walls. In the end…does it matter what he thinks of us?" he swallowed. "_He's our teammate_, Naruko. Maybe you can't trust him yet because of your own bad experiences, maybe you'll never trust him because you're picky with your friendships…but he's our teammate. When shit will hit the fan, and it will, I expect him to be at our backs just as we'll be at his."

He locked eyes with her. "He's a civilian, and he doesn't have a bounty on his head since birth like you or me. He's in our team, he'll be a target just like us when we'll first set foot outside. What does he have? Nothing. You're expecting him to be a leech or a parasite but…do you realize he's a victim here too? You think an Iwagakure Anbu will waste time with us when he could aim for the weak link? You think they won't try and get out of an Uchiha's teammate the skills of the shinobi? We're a bloody marked team, Naruko. Kakashi's own bounty far exceeds ours combined."

Naruko looked sideways.

"And you don't get to make his life more miserable than it will probably become. You don't get to run away from this confrontation," Sasuke hissed out. "We've got an entire month. You'll come to terms with it, with him, within the end of this damn month or I swear..."

"I said I would give him a chance, I'm giving him a chance!" Naruko exclaimed.

"It's easy to say something," Sasuke ground out, glaring at her, "The difficult part is _sticking_ _to it_."

"I always keep my promises, dattebayo!" Naruko clenched her fists. "I do!"

"Yeah? Then prove it," he pointed to the top of the tree. "Get him down, like you would if it were me standing there, scared senseless."

Naruko pouted, but when Sasuke's full-out glare settled on her once more, she huffed and began to walk up the tree trunk to reach its top. Maybe Sasuke really had a crush on Shinku. She snorted as the straight thought went and left her brain. Maybe she was being petty about it all. That thought too left her head a moment afterwards.

People she could trust were those she would call friends unconditionally. Sasuke just didn't understand that. When she befriended someone, she meant it for life, not just 'because'. She wanted real friends, true friends, and the type of bond that was unshakeable and unbreakable no matter what happened.

That was why she was going to listen to Sasuke…but she was going to do things her way.

"Ohi, Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, reaching for the top.

"Go 'way," he mumbled back, only one of his crimson eyes open to stare at her, while the other remained closed with the side pressed against the bark of the tree..

"Now, what'cha doing up here?"

"Hugging the tree," Shinku muttered. "He understands me," he added then. "Quiet guy, really helpful, he also hates leeches."

"Why aren't you on the branch from before? You scared us when we didn't see you there."

"Alien leech from space," Shinku stated plainly, "With teeth…lots of teeth."

"Ah, giant leeches are pretty common around here Shin-chan," Naruko said. "They're not that scary, really…"

"Easy for you to say," Shinku muttered. "They have teeth and are as big as dogs."

"Well…at least their bites don't hurt?" Naruko offered as a good thing. "So, why don't you come down from the top eh? We can have a nice afternoon snack. Sasuke caught some fishes. You like fish, right?"

"The fish has teeth?"

"Yep," Naruko said without thinking, before widening her eyes and then shaking her head firmly. "No! Nope, no teeth at all on any of the fishes!"

"I'm fine here," Shinku muttered. "There's a nice view."

"Aren't you getting tired though? I mean…you ran a big distance and made a hell of a leap. You sure you can hold out?"

"Can't feel my legs," Shinku chuckled. "Doesn't hurt."

"Ohi, not feeling your legs isn't something to laugh about Shin-chan."

Shinku didn't reply.

"Hey, I was wondering," Naruko said suddenly. "What's your name from? I mean, Sasuke's name comes from Sasuke Sarutobi apparently, and I'm pretty sure he's actually written with Sas-Uke, you know…a Sassy Uke," the word-pun remained unanswered.

"I'm Naruko, because…well, it's not 'clappers' but 'Thunder Storm' got that? I'm not a set of clappers. I don't clap. I'm a cool and menacing thunderstorm, that's what I am 'ttebayo."

She pressed on.

"I think yours is 'Shin' and 'Ku'. Now, Shin can be a lot of stuff, it can mean true, new, heart, belief, progress…maybe you're a work in progress? It can also mean humility, advance or gentleman. 'Ku' means also nine in slang-talk. Which would be awesome because, I mean, I'm the nine tails Jinchuuriki so I'd have a side-kick called 'True Nine' or something like that…no? Then maybe…uhm…you're a Red Gentleman?"

"Crimson," he croaked out. "The meaning is…crimson, 'True Red'."

"Ah-ha! I knew I'd get you to say something," Naruko beamed him a smile. "Now Shin-chan, why did they call you that?"

He exhaled slowly. "My eyes are crimson," he muttered.

"Good! Well, obviously," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Mine are cerulean! Bright blue, sky-blue, whatever-that-colour-is-blue! So how about coming down from up there now, Shin-chan? Uke-chan hates people who are late, and we're sort-of late for the afternoon snack. We shinobi have to eat lots to keep ourselves fit. If you can munch on something then do so —you never know when you're going to starve."

She slowly took a step forward. "Now, how about you let go and I swear I'm going to catch you? Don't'cha worry about nothing," she took another step, stopping just behind Shinku's back and holding him by the waist. "Relax your legs and then try and put your feet against the bark. Nice and easy does it."

He let go, falling backwards like a bag of potatoes. Surprisingly, Naruko did grab him tightly as if he weighted nothing. "Ohi, you eating enough Shin-chan? You're a bit on the light weight uh," Naruko commented as he found the bark with his feet.

He breathed in deeply as he heard Naruko's footsteps move to the side, to allow him to descend carefully. Shinku took a couple of steps down, soon followed by another hesitant one. He reached the branch where Sasuke was waiting in silence, exhaling once more in relief the moment he touched the surface and could let gravity be gravity.

"You all right?" Sasuke asked, eying him.

"Yeah," he nodded back with a light coughing fit. Smoke filled his nostrils as his eyes began to shed tears.

"The wind moved again," Sasuke grumbled, grabbing a fan and returning to…

Shinku rubbed his eyes. Atop the branch, Sasuke was fanning the 'late afternoon' snack. He had apparently set up a small fire on the branch —the _wooden_ branch.

"Fire burns upwards," Sasuke remarked, "And the forest is naturally humid…and I placed a wide rock at the bottom of the fire pit. So no, I am not stupidly going to burn us all to death smoking the fish."

"Ohi, Uke-chan!" Naruko yelled, "See? I got him down! I'm the coolest therapist there is!"

"We need to start conserving food," Sasuke explained. "We're without salt, so smoking is a solution like any others."

He then looked up to the sky. "The best thing to do is prepare everything before nightfall. I wouldn't go around the forest during the day, let alone at night. For tonight, we'll sleep at the base of this branch. I don't trust the snakes and the leeches above us, but with a fire they should keep away and frankly we can't hide in the roots, since I'd rather not become tiger food," Sasuke snorted. "Really, those creatures are massive. Whoever grew them had to be compensating for something."

"Grew?" Shinku asked wearily.

"Of course Shin-chan," Naruko exclaimed. "Don'tcha know? The first Hokage, Hashirama…he was the one who surrounded Konoha with trees! So if he did that, he grew the trees of the forest of Death too and, by consequence, he had to have brought the animals in here to boot."

"Ah, yeah," he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. His heart began to beat slower. It didn't matter if the forest of death was a personal zoo-pastime of the first Hokage. He was actually gladder about Sasuke's canteen dropped in his hands, from which he took the first sip of water in the entire day. He passed it to Naruko then, before gently starting to eat at his fish.

Just a few meters away, on a taller branch and holding on to a familiar orange book, a silver-haired Jounin watched the scene dispassionately.

"This is really cruel, Kakashi," a female voice said from his side, as he flipped the pages of his Icha-Icha. "I like the idea, but it is really cruel," she added. Her purple hair tied in a crook behind her head, Yugao Uzuki frowned —not that her face was visible, hidden by her mask as it was.

"I know," Kakashi nodded. "But remember, no favouritism. They left enough tracks to be clearly visible —and I can smell the smoked fish from here."

"All right trainees," the female Anbu turned to the rest of her group. "You know the drill…subdue all three of them! If you fail, then you're out of the Anbu program!"

The group nodded, before silently disappearing in a flicker.

"So," Yugao commented. "Where's Anko?"

"She was barred from participating," Kakashi's only eye smiled. "Some of her ideas were a bit on the extreme after all."

"More extreme than yours?"

"Live snake hunt with poisonous snakes," Kakashi drawled out, "strapping them to chairs in the torture department and using saws to scare them senseless…this is just good old psychological hazing."

Yugao nodded, and then disappeared too.

Kakashi returned to his recently bought book.

"_Icha-Icha Jungle-Harem Tactics."_

Down below, Sasuke was just about to begin his turn, when the Anbu appeared.

He tensed, as did both Naruko and Shinku.

"What's up guys?" Naruko said hesitantly, chuckling lightly.

"You left enough traces to be tracked during the day," an Anbu drawled out. "Because of that, you will be punished," he assumed a fighting stance.

"Wait. What!?" Naruko shrieked. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Begin subdual procedures," another Anbu said, pushing a button on a small clock tied to his wrist, "We have less than five minutes from now!"

Like a single men, the six Anbu shot forth. Shinku had barely the time to realize there was a fist coming for his stomach that another landed squarely on the side of his face. A thick and wet cloth pressed against his face, as he inhaled deeply once, before falling asleep.

Both Naruko and Sasuke fell shortly thereafter.

"Now, let's see…" Kakashi commented seeing the three sleeping Genin. "Let's drop them off a few miles to the north of here and then wake them up…leave their food supplies behind."

With that, the Anbu obeyed.

The first day of training in the Forest of Death ended with three Genin tied to a thick rope in the middle of the forest, unconscious and without food supplies.

Kakashi just looked at them hanging, before sighing. "What doesn't kill you…"

"You sure the Hokage permitted all of this?" Yugao muttered, looking at him from her own spot. They weren't going to let them die of course, so someone always remained behind in case of dangerous animals lurking by.

"Yep. This is the minimum. Sensei was pretty clear on it…there's a lot of risks involved in taking missions out of the village with the Hokage's child after all," Kakashi's only eye closed for a moment. "Better for all of them to be prepared, rather than risking their lives. In here at least they're kept under control."

"Tiger, to the right," Yugao stated plainly.

Kakashi flung a kunai without wasting a second or even opening his eye, slicing the beast's sides and scaring it away.

"Iwagakure increased the bounty on Naruko again," the Jounin continued. "It's now higher than Asuma's."

"They really have no shame," Yugao hissed. "She's just a child."

"Mah, mah," Kakashi shrugged. "What else can we do but this? Better for them to suffer this brutality now than later… it also helps in developing their bonds with one another."

Then the Jounin opened his eye.

"Naruko's waking up. We can leave now."

"Ohi!" Naruko's shrill voice echoed through the forest. "Kakashi-Nii! I know it's you! I swear that when I'm done with this I'll rip your Icha-Icha collection to shreds! I'll ask Jiraiya to use you as an Uke-character for his next book! I swear to all that is holy in ramen that I will have my revenge with pranks of such magnitude they will speak of them in fear in the years to come! Do you hear me, Kakashi-Nii!? Do you hear me!?"

Kakashi just chuckled lightly, before disappearing in a flicker. Yugao soon followed.

Naruko screamed, as she broke through the rope with brute strength alone, before panting from the effort.

"Damn it, Kakashi," she snarled. "At least stay and fight like a man."

She began to untie her teammates. "So we can't even leave traces of our passage around? What the hell is wrong with that man!? What. The. Hell."

Holding Shinku on her left shoulder and Sasuke on her right, she began to walk away from the spot…and all the while, quiet Anbu masks observed their movement from the highest branches.

**Author's notes**

**I'm not trying to make any character 'unliked' or 'liked'. I'm trying to give them reasons for being jaded/not jaded.**

**Good to know I'm doing 'new ground' stuff.**

**BTW. Sakura's excellent chakra control was because she was 'she' and thus special in her own way. Shinku has his own specialty field –which will become apparent later on. That said, it's more like two sides of the same coin. Sakura used 'excellent' control to be a 'medic'…and last chapter of Naruto has her knocked out cold. (Kishi really loves her, uh).**

**Shinku has something else. Some already hazarded a more wicked-brutal fighting style, and that isn't far from the truth. You'll see. **

**Considering how the main focus of the story is about portraying the 'dead-last' trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with 'giants'…oh, it's going to be fun. Really fun.**

**The idea came precisely from the last chapters of the Naruto manga. I mean, why bother with giving a 'power-up' to Sakura if she's knocked out could after four-five panels? So I thought about 're-doing' that feeling of…well, Sakura in canon is **_**inadequate**_**, plain and simple, to what Kishimoto did to Naruto and Sasuke. The two rend mountains. Sakura faints. The two cooperate, she watches from afar. Kishi…you're not trying anymore, are you?**

**Enough AN! See ya next chapter.**


	14. Earn Your Place In A World of Blood

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fourteen

Waking up in the middle of the forest, tied like salami and without any idea on where you were was a new experience. Shinku had to admit it wasn't a refreshing one. He had been wondering quite for some time now why he couldn't just quit it. A nice and sharp kunai in the neck ought to do the trick after all —it wasn't as if suicides were uncommon around the shinobi force.

It was then that he realized he was moving. Well, _carried_ was aptly the better term. He was gazing downwards, at the grass shifting beneath a pair of blue sandals —were they blue to begin with? It was night, and he couldn't see well.

His head pulsed, and he could feel his stomach flare with agony every time Naruko took a step forward —it was a throbbing pain, how did he manage to get wounded? Oh, right, the Anbu must have actually punched him in the guts.

"Damn it, Kakashi-Nii," he heard Naruko mutter…wait, was he being carried by her? He looked to his left, where Sasuke too stood immobile on Naruko's other shoulder. Just how strong was the girl to begin with, to lift them both with such ease?

"You didn't have to knock them all out," she muttered. "Uke-chan's heavy!" she grumbled. "He's got, like, an armoury on him," she growled. "Leaving us tied in the meadow, really…"

Shinku coughed, and the next instant Naruko settled him down.

"Ohi, Shin-chan," she muttered. "You're all right?"

He nodded, before watching as she professionally cut the ropes that held him prisoner with a kunai. "What happened?" he muttered, holding on to the side of his head.

"Kakashi-bastard and his goons," Naruko grumbled. "If we leave a mess during the day they'll attack us at night," she looked around warily. "And I think they took our food and Sasuke's flask."

He could barely see beyond his face, but the wary look Naruko had on told him that she wasn't at all going to enjoy the moment Sasuke realized they were, indeed, without a flask.

"What do we do now?" he muttered.

"No idea," Naruko grumbled. "We're pretty far away from where they took us, and if we go back I think they'll just subdue us again. You're really all right by the way? They hit Uke-chan pretty hard."

"Ah…yes," he mumbled. "I…went down in one hit," he added.

"Yeah," she snorted, "I saw that. It was pretty pathetic," she shook her head. "Well, we're stuck here then. On the ground, with the tiger prowling…I hope not, but really…what is there of normal in this damn forest?"

"A…aren't you scared?" Shinku asked quietly. He doubted he'd manage to catch a wink of sleep.

"Nah, I'm used to it," she retorted, "Being scared just freezes you, and a ninja is all about mobility. If you have the time to be scared, you have the time to run away from danger as fast as you can."

Shinku didn't reply.

"When I used to be scared, years ago —like, way back— I had this little stuffed toad that I held close to me," she said then. "Point is, it was just a stuffed toy. It wasn't anything else but a bit of cloth and wool," she fidgeted as she sat down next to him, holding Salami-Sasuke on her other side —the boy was still out like a light. "It didn't have powers or cool techniques. Therefore, in the end…I was just hugging a piece of fabric. If I could fight off my fears with a piece of fabric, then why couldn't I do the same with a kunai in hand?"

Naruko groaned. "Don't tell this to anyone else, you hear me?"

"Ah, of course," Shinku nodded.

"Good, that's good Shin-chan," Naruko muttered. "Well, how about you do the guard first? If it's an animal wake me up…we'll dangle Uke-chan in front of them. Maybe his squawks will keep them away," she giggled.

"All right;" Shinku whispered back, before craning his neck slightly and gazing around.

A few minutes later, he heard the soft snoring of Naruko mix with the breathing of Sasuke. Both of the prodigies had fallen asleep, leaving him as the guard of the team.

Sleeping, at the very least, made them equally defenceless.

"Uhm…ramen…" Naruko moaned in her sleep, snickering lightly. "Don't run away…"

A twig broke. The 'crack' resounded in the forest like a gunshot, at least to Shinku's ears. He had a kunai in his hands by then, holding on to it shakily. There wasn't any light around, and even the moon seemed to have waned out of the sky. The wind rustled the branches, as his breathing was all that his ears heard.

He had a kunai in his hands. He had to calm down. He had a weapon, he wasn't defenceless.

Something wet and sticky fell on the back of his neck, his hair rising at that feeling. Slowly, he lifted his head. It was then that he saw it. A giant anaconda, as big as one of the trees, was slowly devouring in absolute silence what looked like a behemoth of a carnivorous bear.

Its giant eye settled on him, hypnotic as it was, and then…then it ignored him.

He was too little, too weak, too insignificant for such a giant creature.

His mouth hung open as he watched the giant snake —truly, enormous— devour the equally giant bear whole…and then, slowly, slither away across the trees.

It didn't matter if he had a kunai in his hand.

Sometimes…it simply wasn't enough.

When morning rose, he would have really liked to believe it all a dream. If it weren't for the blotch of blood that covered his neck…he would have.

"Shin-chan?" Naruko scrunched her nose as she woke up, "You're taking a bath."

He blinked. "What?"

Sasuke growled as his eyes shot open. "Someone. Untie. Me."

"What?" Naruko parroted Shinku. "Why? Salami-Sasuke, the new merchandise for all the lovers of the Uchiha Salami! We could sell him in Konoha to the fangirls," the girl continued. "We'd make a fortune."

Sasuke's murderous glare could have killed. "Untie. Me."

"Only if you promise to be gentle with Shin-chan's first time," Naruko said. "I know you just want to perv on him in the water."

"I swear by all that is Uchiha…if you don't untie me within the next moment…"

Shinku hastily obeyed, earning himself a pout from Naruko who crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Spoilsport! Shin-chan, I'm trying to save your purity here from the claws of Fan-Guy!"

Then she blinked.

"AH! The pun! The pun!"

"Eh?" Shinku blinked.

"Fan-Guy! Uchiha, Uchiwa —it means fan— so, he's an Uchiha Guy…a Fan-Guy!"

"On second thoughts," Sasuke muttered, "You can kill me now," he said turning to Shinku. "Please, a kunai straight through the brain will do."

Shinku…

Shinku _chuckled_ then.

He chuckled and held his sides as he fell down on one knee, laughing aloud.

"Ohi, Uke-chan?" Naruko muttered. "I think you broke him."

"Dobe, I think you're the one who broke him," Sasuke shot back.

Shinku just laughed. By the time he stopped, he wiped away the tears from his eyes and chuckled one last time. "Ah…sorry."

"Don't worry Shin-chan! It's nice to have someone who understands my puns finally!"

If there was one thing the human mind was capable of…it was adapting for survival purposes. That was the logic of Kakashi Hatake, and he would keep on using it for as long as it worked. Watching the three Genin head over to the river, he couldn't help but chuckle himself.

They were still kids after all —given enough time, they could adapt to anything.

Washing in the river was a new experience. It was strange, especially because while Naruko remained on the lookout, she also _catcalled_ incessantly.

"Ohi! No funny business behind my back all right!? You want to rump in the river you have to warn me! I'll need pictures to finally prove Sasuke's really a Uke-chan after all! I'll give you a cut of the profits too, Shin-chan!"

"Keep your perverted head out of the gutter, moronic bimbo!" Sasuke yelled back.

"Compare them while you're at it!" Naruko exclaimed once more, "If Shin-chan's got a bigger one, then you might lose some members of your fanclub, Teme! You know what they say of the quiet ones, right?"

Shinku wasn't feeling embarrassed. He wasn't, because the cold and icy water was doing more than enough to keep his head straight on a single thought: wash as fast as humanly possible and get out of there immediately. They were without soap, but apparently, the 'scrubbing' part was with sharp-edged rocks.

He got the dried blood out of his clothes and skin at least —albeit he was starting to believe he had simply flailed the skin off rather than just the dirt.

Five minutes of hell later —a frozen hell— and he wore once more the same clothes he had on before. Now they were wet too, but at least clean.

"Let's run with them," Sasuke stuttered out, "Better than just dying of cold in here."

"Ohi!" Naruko frowned. "What about me? No peaking!?"

"You have…like, a thousand clones, Naruko," Sasuke hissed between clenched teeth. "You don't need a lookout."

"Meanie!" Naruko pouted. "Would it kill any of you to at least try and act not-gay?"

Shinku was already jumping from one foot to the other, shuddering as his fingers were starting to turn white.

"Very well," Naruko pouted. "To think I even placed a fire over there," she beckoned with her head towards a hole in the ground, from where a small plume of smoke was coming out. "Don't thank me, eh. No need to thank the awesome Naruko Namikaze."

"T-Thanks," Shinku chattered out.

"You…" Sasuke growled. "If you had a fire on, why did you let us put the wet clothes back on!?"

Naruko smiled. "What? Wet shirts pictures! I'm sure the fanclub will enjoy them!"

Sasuke bonked Naruko's head, grounding his teeth before removing the wet clothes. Shinku mimicked him, exhaling in relief as they began to run.

"We'll be going downstream for a while! You have ten minutes, bimbo!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruko waved at them. "Go and rut behind a bush you two! Remember to do it safe!"

Shinku swallowed, closing his eyes. This was not how he envisioned training. He actually…well that was the reason he had laughed before. The two…they looked like prodigies, they were prodigies but…but the way they acted…it was like talking to lunatics.

What girl sane of her mind would act like a pervert? Frankly, he believed himself saner than both of them combined…and he had the bad habit of talking to himself.

"You'll get used to Naruko's perversion," Sasuke muttered as he jumped over a rock —while Shinku took the longer road by running next to it. "She doesn't mean anything by it. She's just…like that."

"Ah…yes," he mumbled back. "I understand."

"No, you don't," Sasuke shot back, which made Shinku flinch. "Mind you, I didn't understand it either," he added hastily. "It's…ah, I suppose it's complicated," he jumped past a dead tree.

Shinku just nodded, or at least, he hoped Sasuke had seen him give an awkward nod about it. "Well, anyway," Sasuke said, changing hastily the argument. "You're on a diet?"

"Eh?"

"I mean, you're really lean and for the son of bakers, well, it's not that I was expecting an Akimichi mind you, but…"

"No, nothing of the sorts," Shinku blinked. Sasuke shot him a look. "What?" he found himself asking.

"You know, if you have any problem concerning food, there's…"

"What." Shinku squawked that out. "What the hell? No! No, no, and no!" he shook his head, crossing his arms in front of his chest in an 'x'. "I have nothing of the sort!"

"Oh," Sasuke blinked. "Still, you should eat more."

"I'll make a note about it," literally. He'll probably have to write it on the fridge asking for bigger amounts of food to heat up later. Maybe he could just snack outside?

"Good," Sasuke said. "And, well, if you have any problem, you know you can just say it?"

Shinku just had to blink again. "T-Thanks?" he hesitantly replied.

"Good," Sasuke returned to his run. Shinku breathed in and out, "Breathe from your nose, not your mouth," the Uchiha shot at him a moment later. "Don't do small steps. Try and extend your legs as much as you can."

He blearily followed through with the training suggestions. Mostly because he really had no ground to protest —he was the dead-last. Maybe the prodigies weren't all that 'prodigal' but he? Oh, he was the last of the last and he knew it very well.

"Halt," he froze. "Let's head back n—"

A tiger took that moment to pounce out from the sides of the river, roaring and showing its claws. It was an instant. Sasuke spun, eying the tiger coming close to him. The fangs gleamed as they headed towards Shinku's face, and frankly, by that time Shinku's sense of time had already skewered itself.

He was watching his death come closer by the second, in the form of jaws and sharp teeth —frankly, the tiger needed a good dentist— when…well… he didn't know what _exactly_ happened afterwards.

One moment, the tiger had nearly bitten on her Shinku-snack. The next, the tiger cried in agony against the bark of the nearby tree, as Sasuke's kunai plunged deep into the creature's sides. The boy then jumped backwards, panting hard as he held on to his bloodied weapon.

"Take a weapon out," Sasuke growled. "The tigers move in packs."

He hastily swallowed, before gripping tightly on the handle of his own kunai.

The growling intensified, as tiger after tiger slowly poured from the trees, their teeth showing as a few roared in their direction. Their eyes were red with bloodlust, and as their tails flickered, Shinku took a step backwards towards the river.

"Don't think about it," Sasuke muttered. "If you enter the river they'll just hunt us down with ease. Can you walk on the water?"

"No," he muttered back. The trees were out, judging by how the tigers were patrolling them.

"Well," Sasuke grumbled. "I hope fire scares them."

Sasuke's hands shot through hand seals for a chakra technique —not that Shinku saw them, he was far busier keeping an eye out on the closest tiger. The moment a chakra fire ball erupted from Sasuke's mouth however, the tigers roared loud and zeroed in on him.

"I think you made them angry," Shinku hissed out through clenched teeth, as his hands began to shake.

"This is preposterous. They're animals and animals are afraid of fire!"

"Maybe…they forgot?" Shinku hazarded as he held his kunai in front of him.

"We'll have to run our way out of here," Sasuke commented. "You aim for a tree and then run on top of it as fast as you can, I'll..."

In that moment, the 'alpha' tiger attacked first. Sasuke's right fist flew out to meet the side of the face of the behemoth of flesh and muscles, shattering its cheekbone and sending the beast backwards as two more jumped to grab at his sides. Shinku barely had the time to scream as one brought down its right paw in a swing at him, which forced him to jump backwards.

As he did that, one of the tiger that had been midway through her jump to reach the Uchiha found herself the target of a chakra fireball technique, which charred her to death. The second proceeded with her run, only to end up chewing a wood trunk.

Shinku gave his back to his own attacking tiger, seeing a breach in their pack for the tree. He dashed for that hole in their formation, but two tigers closed the gap within seconds biting ferociously in front of them and halting his advance.

Surrounded by teeth and claws, Shinku clenched his own kunai.

Why did it always have to be him in these situations? Was there something about him that screamed 'please, kill me'? Sasuke reappeared a moment later, flickering on the back of one of the tigers as he slammed one of his kunai straight in the beast's neck.

Shinku didn't even care about the blood.

"Move!" at that command, he jumped past the corpse of the tiger and reached for the tree. That was when the second tiger pounced on him from the side and chewed down hard on his shoulder, tearing and rending it with its powerful fangs.

Shinku's scream echoed through the forest, as he punched with his left hand the sides of the tiger's face. "LET. ME. GO! LET ME GO! LET ME…" he shrieked until his throat felt raw as the pain flared throughout his entire body. A kunai stuck to the sides of the creature's head then, sending it limp to fall on the ground.

Another fire technique charred yet one more tiger, before Sasuke flickered right next to him and grabbed him by his 'sane' shoulder. He was without upper clothing, so he could see his mangled shoulder —even the bone was _showing_— for what it was.

He began to sniffle.

Kakashi, from above his branch, remained silent.

"Sir, shouldn't we…"

"No," Kakashi remarked. "A shinobi must always keep its vigilance. That's nothing a medic-nin can't fix anyway. It will serve as a lesson against relaxing."

"But infections…"

"Ah, it won't come to that," Kakashi muttered. "We'll have a look at it tonight, if it worries you," the man added. "Still, remember this lesson the lot of you," he turned to eye the Anbu trainee. "At any moment, in any instant, any mission may turn from a cakewalk to a hell on earth. An explosive tag might detonate as you happily laugh with your teammates. An ambush might strike you as you're walking along a street filled with children. Never lower your guard. Never be caught unprepared."

"It's a wonder he hasn't gone into shock," one of the trainees muttered to another, their eyes trailing over the wounded boy carried by Sasuke.

"Working on adrenaline, I'm sure he'll be down by the time they're out of danger;" the other remarked.

"Still, that's cruel, really cruel," Yugao muttered once more. "You could have used a Genjutsu to make the point," she added.

"No," Kakashi drawled. "I want them to truly believe they are alone in the forest. No help will come to them during a mission. Even sensei isn't able to help them without first knowing they're in danger, so the seal on Naruko's back is meaningless during an actual mission." His lonely eye gazed over the blood trail they left behind in the forest. "Apparently, they can't even clean after themselves."

Yugao felt the bile rise to her throat. "Understood," she turned to the trainees. "You heard the Taichou. Prepare for subduing them tonight once more."

Naruko realized something was wrong not because Sasuke came back covered in blood, and holding Shinku by his side.

She realized something was wrong because Sasuke arrived early.

"Tiger. Bite. Shoulder." Sasuke said fast. "We were…we were just running and then a pack surrounded us."

"Gah!" Naruko exclaimed, looking at the wound. "What the…come on Shin-chan! Stay awake all right!?"

"Blood loss, shock," Sasuke snapped terms one after the other. "Bandages. Need bandages."

"I don't have bandages Teme!" Naruko yelled. "I heal from these things in minutes!"

"My pockets, Dobe!" Sasuke snarled. "Come on, Shinku…stay awake."

Shinku didn't reply. He felt tired, and the pain? Well, the pain was going away slowly…slowly draining away.

"Ohi! Shin-chan! No going towards the light, understood!? Light. Is. Bad!"

A flare of agony rushed through his body as something constricted his shoulder. He cried out in pain, not caring until someone stuck a piece of shirt in his mouth. "Don't try to chew your tongue out! Come on Shin-chan, it's not that bad. Well, maybe a bit, but…survive! The body is made to survive these sort of things, really!"

"That's you, Dobe! Normal humans don't survive being chewed in the middle of a frigging jungle!"

"Shut the hell up Teme! What the hell were you doing!? Is it the new kink to become the chew toy of a tiger!? Kakashi-Nii! Come on! I know you're out there! It's enough! Shin-chan needs the hospital! The wound's really bad!"

Shinku's eyes rolled towards the back of his head. "Kakashi-Nii! Come on!" Naruko screamed once more. "Kakashi-Nii?"

"Let's head towards the exit," Sasuke growled. "There's a difference between a training exercise and killing someone."

Naruko gripped on to Shinku's now lifeless body. "All right, hold on tight Shin-chan, we're getting you out of here 'ttebayo!"

Sasuke led the way, as the two actually did not need more than a few hours to reach the borders with the outside.

"Ohi," Naruko took a step forward, only for a pair of Anbu to appear.

"Shin-chan's wounded, come on folks, training gig is up. Let him go to the hospital."

"We are sorry," one of the Anbu spoke, "Namikaze-san, but orders are clear."

"Ehi! Come on, I mean…Shin-chan's not going to make it if it keeps going like this!"

"It is not our problem," the other Anbu replied. "Return in the forest."

"Ohi!" Sasuke snarled, "There's a difference between training and murder! There are strict laws about what one can train on or not! This ends in the life risk category, and I demand the training to cease! He needs a hospital!"

"Hokage orders may overrule any previous rulings," the first Anbu spoke once more. "Such is the case."

"Move aside," Naruko growled. "You are moving aside now," she added.

"Proceed with subdual," an Anbu flickered to existence just behind Sasuke, slamming a fist straight through the boy's back as another punched the Uchiha in the face and knocked him unconscious.

"HEY! What the hell! Have you gone mad! You bastards!" Naruko looked around, taking a step backwards. "Well, Shin-chan? Just wait a moment all right?"

The moment she dropped him, the Anbu already flickered to the attack. She hastily raised her hands to guard her face, bringing her knees up to protect her stomach and twisting her body in mid-air. The blows grazed her, but an instant was all she needed to use the Taju Kage Bunshin.

"We're busting out of here!" Naruko yelled, "And there's no—"

"_Raikiri."_

Thunder cracked the ground as Kakashi charged ahead in the midst of the clones, puffing them up into clouds of smoke with his sharingan out.

"Kakashi-Nii?" Naruko said softly, "Hey…the gig is up, like, really," she pointed towards Shinku. "It's not a joke! I'm not kidding! He's really wounded! He needs a medic, not…"

"You still have twenty-eight days left to go, Naruko," Kakashi said with his usual carefree voice. "Do proceed with them."

That settled Naruko's blood to run cold.

"What?"

"Twenty-Eight days still."

"Eh, for a moment…are you out of your frigging mind!? THIS. IS. NOT. A. JOKE!"

She took a step forward, before flinching and taking one back. "Calm down…come on, Kakashi-Nii," she pleaded softly, "Pretty please?"

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "There will be no help until the end of the thirty days. If he dies…mah," Kakashi shrugged. "It will simply be a training accident."

Naruko clenched her hands. "What the hell, Kakashi-Nii…what the hell?"

"Uhm…since I'm feeling generous, you can leave for the forest with them if you want," Kakashi remarked. "Only this once, no subdual for having tried to escape the forest…but really, try and survive for a month all right?"

"Shinku doesn't have a day, yet alone a month! Damn it, damn it…" she growled, "Is this one of those 'underneath the underneath' things? What the hell do you want from…" she widened her eyes, before gritting her teeth. "No. Not a chance in hell, Kakashi-Nii."

"Uhm? You said something?" slowly, Kakashi began to flip through a page of Icha-Icha.

"I'm not using that."

"I don't know what 'that' is, Naruko-chan."

"Fine then," Naruko huffed. "When Shin-chan dies I'll blame you, just know this!"

Kakashi sighed as he watched a clone of Naruko grab Sasuke while she grabbed back Shinku before disappearing in the forest. "Really," Kakashi mumbled, as he remained alone with the Anbu. "She could have made it far easier," shaking his head, he returned to his position on the nearby branch.

Yugao crossed her arms as she narrowed her gaze on Kakashi's completely flippant attitude.

"What?"

"He's really going to die, you know that?"

"Mah…the human body is such a wonderful thing. He'll last until tonight," he flicked another page, "And weak links need to be hit with hammers, so that in the fire of the forge they may return stronger."

"Weak links break when hammered," Yugao snarled.

"Then, if they break, you replace them," Kakashi's now single eye bore into Yugao's. own, "This isn't a game, Uzuki-san. This is nothing compared to the real world. They might have a hundred missions, but the one hundred and one might be their doom anyway. Just wait until the night and then subdue them all once more. Give a blood and soldier pill to Shinku and disinfect the wound…soldiers survived months on the battlefield with only that."

"He's a Genin."

"He's my soldier," Kakashi ground out. "He's one of my soldiers. If I order him to grit his teeth and survive, then he will obey."

"You're talking as if we were in war times, Kakashi," Yugao muttered. "We aren't in those anymore."

"We'll pretty soon be by the look of things," he muttered. "All that it takes is a missing nin trying to earn Naruko's bounty. All that it takes is a shinobi from an enemy country found in the land of fire…all that it takes is a diplomatic accident. War…war is never far, Uzuki-san," Kakashi murmured. "And I was ready for war at seven," he hissed. "They are called prodigies…but they have yet to face what truly makes a prodigy: the fires of pain and suffering will either make them or break them…and if they shatter, then their pieces are better collected here, in Konoha, then outside in the middle of a battlefield."

Yugao closed her eyes and grimaced, her face thankfully hidden by a mask.

"The words are good, but…"

"No buts," Kakashi snapped. "Keep an eye on them and wait the night."

"Yes, sir," and with those words, Yugao flickered away.

Kakashi slowly brought his right hand inside his Jounin vest, removing from within it a small round sphere covered in dried blood. "I'm so sorry…Obito," he murmured watching the rock sphere. "Trying to be like you is hard," he added.

Then Kakashi sighed and looked upwards to the sky.

He didn't even like Icha-Icha...but it was better than nothing.

**Author's notes**

…

**We aren't even at the worse part yet.**

**But what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.**

…

**Or highly traumatized.**

**I opt for the second option.**

_**And yes, Kakashi's training from hell is still better than Anko's. (At least Kakashi left them with Chakra. So think about the Sakura of Introverted.)**_


	15. InSanity We Trust

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifteen

Sasuke smelled the blood first, before even opening his eyes. For a single instant, he truly believed he had gone back to that night of darkness, where all he could do was whimper and cry, his eyes no longer his. Then he realized the whimpers of pain weren't coming from him, and his eyes opened wide.

He stood up, his gaze wondering around until his eyes settled on Naruko standing next to Shinku, holding him down as the boy tried to trash around.

"Ohi, Uke-chan," Naruko muttered as she watched him stand, "I don't know what to do," she croaked out. Her hands covered in blood, she was pressing on Shinku's sane shoulder to hold him down. "I mean…what do you do?"

"This is bullshit," Sasuke snarled. "They can't do something like this!"

"Kakashi-Nii said we still have twenty-eight days to go," she murmured. "I don't even know if Shin-chan will last the night…what do we do?"

"What do I know?" he groaned, "clean the wound, bandage it, hope for the best…what else can we do?"

"Shouldn't we…set the bones?" Naruko hazarded, "Cauterize the wound?"

Sasuke swallowed hard, before gazing at the bloodied wound and at Shinku's sweating face. "That might kill him."

"I know! Damn it," Naruko hissed, "But…if a bone breaks, you have to set it first right?"

"I don't know about shattered bones," Sasuke muttered. "What if we…if we fix it badly? Don't they have to break it again then?"

"We can think of that…when we get to that point," Naruko stuttered. "First, we try and make Shin-chan comfortable…damn it…why the hell did you have to go and run like two gay safeguards? You could have stayed behind to peek on me, dammit!"

"This isn't the time," Sasuke's hands went to his temples, as he slowly rubbed them. They were standing near a tall tree, and there was little around them. "First, we need water to boil. Second, we need a sharp and long blade. A kunai will do…" he swallowed. "Then, cleaning the wound…boiling water. Then, cauterize…and then…then we set it somehow."

"You sure?"

"_YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA!?_" Sasuke yelled back. "I…I'm sorry," he said then. "It's just…I can't believe they aren't even letting him go to the hospital."

"This is all an underneath the underneath," Naruko mumbled. "I know Kakashi-Nii always thinks like that. He never does something for no reason."

"So what? He plans on letting him die to teach us a lesson?" Sasuke snarled.

"Why don't you use your sharingan?" Naruko asked. "We could be out of here in an hour with it."

"Why don't you use the Kyuubi then? They taught you how to use his powers, right?" Sasuke shot back.

It clicked then, as both closed their eyes and grimaced, looking away.

"So that's what it is all about?"

"No," Naruko shook her head. "Kakashi-Nii didn't say it, but it might just be one of the things. I mean…what were the chances of me or you being wounded in here? We could be out of here in less than an hour if we really wanted to be out," she looked up, towards the treetop. "That's probably another thing they want us to do. We either break free or we don't."

"I swore I would not use those eyes ever," Sasuke muttered.

"And I swore I wouldn't use the Kyuubi," Naruko exhaled. "So we're just two bastards who are going to let Shin-chan die," she shook her head. "We're the worst. Those who abandon their mission are trash," she muttered, "But those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash," she looked at her bleeding hands. "I'm getting Shin-chan to a hospital, even if it's the last thing that I do."

"Uh? What…"

"You said to give him a chance, and well…if you were in that position, I would do the same so…how difficult will it be? Just, in case I lose control, kick my ass back all right?"

"Wait!" Sasuke blurted. "If you use the Kyuubi's chakra everyone in Konoha will feel it! I'll…I'll do it, I'll use the sharingan."

Naruko grimaced. "Really?"

Sasuke wringed his hands, and then bit his lips in frustration. "N…I…I can't. It's…"

"Hard, uh," Naruko mumbled. "I'm scared," she whispered. "Scared it might change me if I give in to it, to its power…I suppose it's the same for you too, Uke-chan?"

Sasuke swallowed, and then clenched his fists. "Very well, we're not abandoning our teammate." He narrowed his eyes. "Let's treat him."

Shinku was on a dry desert. Fire was raging down from the skies and purple clouds surrounded by green suns twirled about lazily. He blinked as he stared into the cacophony of colors and colored sand. A scorpion and a fox played in the sand, surrounded by a snake. Then a bigger snake came by, eating on a giant bear.

The sand turned to blood. The blood turned to glass. Pain was everywhere around him, and for a brief instant, he heard something.

"No, no, no! Shin-chan, stay calm. Take it easy! Go back to sleep! Or whatever really!" there was another flare of pain, and then he fell back in the murky darkness.

His forehead felt wet. A cold and icy hand touched his forehead.

"HEY! It's enough! Kakashi-Nii, it's enough! You can't do this again! He's wounded! He's going to die!"

"Mah, mah," another voice, someone slipped something in his mouth with a dribble of water afterwards.

"Look, Kakashi-Nii, I'm not going to use the Kyuubi, and Sasuke isn't going to use the sharingan! I'm sorry but please, Shin-chan doesn't deserve this!"

"Mah, you see, Naruko," the voice came again, "It's not a matter of 'using' or not…sorry, but you're all soldiers now…and soldiers have duties."

Something else slipped inside his breast pocket. Another cool liquid burned at his shoulder as a light soothing sensation followed afterwards.

"Cat-Taichou?" a male voice whispered. "Healing the wound is…"

"Kakashi can chew on his smut book," the female voice muttered back. "It's a mess. They tried to set it and…ah, at least it won't infect. It's enough…"

He still felt warm, but he was less in pain than before. It felt nice. Really, it felt very nice.

Then he woke up, his back settled against a tree bark. His sight was a bit blurry, but a sheet of leaves covered him. It was even warm, surprisingly. He felt comfortable. It was a long stretch from his bed but at least it really felt nice. His eyes dropped down a moment later, since he was too tired to think properly —and it was dark anyway outside, so why bother?

When he woke up again, he did something stupid.

He yawned, and then he tried to stretch. He didn't stretch much. The moment he tried moving his right arm, a sharp jolt of pain completely woke him up. He grabbed at his shoulder, before letting it go as if it was scorching hot. It wasn't, but the pain felt very real all the same.

He could barely move the fingers of his right hand without pain, and as it was…maybe he could just wait inside that bundle of leaves? No, he had to move…at least drink, or eat something.

His right leg came slowly up to his chest, soon followed by his left one. There were all the tell-tale cracks of a body who hadn't moved for a while, and yet he still got up using his left side and hand to hold up to the tree's trunk.

Wobbling to his feet, he gasped in relief.

He was alive.

He was alone and lost in the forest…

But he was alive.

"We're screwed, Shinku," he muttered.

"Shut up, Shinku," he retorted. "We're going to get out of here," he added. "Then, we're killing Kakashi."

He nodded to that. "I'm killing Kakashi."

"Well, how about we share the murder? You stab him on the right and I stab him on the left," he continued talking as he took a step forward, muttering under his breath as he went on. "We tie him up with thick chains, and then we have him mauled by a tiger."

Another step, the ground felt crunchy under his feet.

"Afterwards, we burn his corpse and spit on his grave…repeatedly."

"Meh, it lacks on the pain side," he mumbled. "Maybe first we torture him with barbed wire? Like, a spinning wheel of barbed wire?"

"Uhm…we'll need metal gauntlets Shinku."

"I know that Shinku," he retorted, "And stop talking to yourself: it's stupid."

He took a few more steps, "We're lost, Shinku. I would rather not think at all about it and talk about the weather."

"The weather is treetop, branches and leaves, with the occasional eldritch abomination coming down from the sky."

"You remember those times when you didn't have to talk to your inner-self?"

"You mean…before life decided I had to become its newest chew toy?"

"Yep," he cursed, passing by the corpse of a snake left to rot in the sun. "Hello there," he muttered to the corpse. "Stay dead, please."

He sped up. "Talking to your own inner-self is one thing, Shinku. Talking to corpses is a bit excessive."

"I find it perfectly sane. I'm alone in the middle of the fucking forest. I'm scared out of my wits and the only thing keeping me sane is the fact that I'm hopefully not going to die."

His left hand fumbled with his pockets as his stomach growled. It was then that his hand gripped around something that wasn't there before, or that he clearly hadn't remembered about having placed there.

A plastic foil came out with a bright smiley on it. He frowned, until he turned the thing around and nearly choked.

He had chocolate.

Someone had gifted him with one of those cheap chocolate bars the size of a finger.

He placed the thing back in his pocket and kept on walking.

He had chocolate.

He'd rather have water, but still…

He had chocolate.

"Whoever did it, thanks;" he muttered. "Any chance for a 'leave the training of hell' while we're at it?"

When he received no reply, he sighed. "Thanks anyway."

He had chocolate.

"To the point of sounding boring," he muttered, "Do you have to repeat 'I have chocolate' some more?"

"I have chocolate," Shinku snorted. "Live with it."

"We are going to live with it," Shinku replied. "Why am I talking to myself again?"

"Alone. In the forest." He pointed out as if he was talking to an idiot. "What else do you think we're supposed to do? Sing?"

"Oh, right, let's sing something so that a tiger will find us. What about a song with Kitties? Or let's sing about snakes while we're at it, or giant bears that plop down from the sky."

A bear actually took the cue to roar its fury, jumping down from a nearby trunk and landing a few meters away from him.

Shinku blinked and stared at the thing.

"Fuck. Off." He snarled back, showing his teeth. "I'm done with you!" he exclaimed, taking a step forward. "Do you have any fucking idea what it's been like!? Go die in a fire! Go die somewhere else! Take your damn 'roar' and 'growl' and shove it up your ass! I'm done! _DONE_! You hear me!?"

The bear wasn't particularly impressed, and began to take a few steps forward. Suddenly, it stopped. Its eyes widened in fear, and then —the massive, mountainous thing that was as tall as two men— turned tails and ran.

Shinku blinked, and then turned its eyes back. Sure enough, atop the tree closer to him one of those giant anacondas loomed hissing its tongue.

"He's going that way!" he pointed to the bear's running form.

The anaconda didn't reply, but it did throw its body forward completely ignoring him. The creature's giant belly passed mere inches away from him, as he stood frozen still. The moment done, Shinku shook his head. "I'm hallucinating now," he returned to his walking. "Fantastic. I have to be hallucinating."

Up above, hidden by a few branches, two masked Anbus watched the scene with their eyes wide.

"We're hallucinating too then," they mumbled.

"Yep," the third one said plainly. "That's got to be one hell of a Genjutsu."

It wasn't, but for Shinku's sanity…it pretty much remained like that in his brain.

**Author's notes**

**A bit of humor to crack the angst. **

**PS: Talking or singing in the woods isn't a sign of being mad. It is actually something done in case of hunting season —the hunters hear the talk/sing and know that the bushes rustling aren't ducks, but scouts. That and wearing a bright orange something to be easily recognized as 'human' rather than 'animal'. **


	16. Treasure The Teammates

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixteen

"Shin-chan!" Naruko yelled. "Shin-chan!"

"Shut it, Dobe," Sasuke growled. "Screaming won't help us."

"What the hell do you know about it, uh? We're all looking for him," she pointed to another clone, who was rummaging through a bush. "Kakashi-Nii's a bastard," she grumbled. "He could have put _you_ alone in a corner of the forest, not Shin-chan. It's already been one day! We lost him for an entire day! Do you know what could happen to Shin-chan in a day!?"

"Ohi, and what about me?"

"What? You're an Uke. You like being in helpless situations."

She began to mock-sniffle. "Poor Shin-chan, lost in the forest, I hope he's all—"

Then she blinked.

"A clone disappeared, I've found him!" with an excited clap of her hands, Naruko dashed ahead, jumping to reach one of the trees' branches and then use it to propel herself all the way to another. Sasuke was just behind her, holding his breath.

Finally they both descended in a meadow, where sitting on a rock stood Shinku.

"Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed as she closed the distance in a rush.

"Broken shoulder! No tackling!" Shinku snapped back quickly, bringing up his left hand.

Naruko pouted, but then patted him on the left shoulder. "You're still alive!"

"Of course he is, Dobe," Sasuke rolled his eyes as he neared. "You're all right, right?"

Shinku exhaled. "I think so? Oh, by the way," he pointed from where he came from. "That way is giant anaconda hunting grounds."

Sasuke paled slightly. "Well," he stammered out quickly, "We'll be going this other way then."

"You sure you can walk Shin-chan?" Naruko pressed on.

"Ah, yes, yes," he nodded. "I don't know about running but…I can try."

"Let's try and get on a tree then," Sasuke stated plainly, "Less risk of tigers."

Shinku flinched, instinctively moving his left hand towards his shoulder. "Yes, I'd rather like that."

Sasuke watched with a mixture of wariness and concern as the civilian boy slowly began to walk up the side of the tree. Naruko hummed from his side, as they both decided to walk slightly behind Shinku in case he fell.

"I can't help but think," Sasuke muttered, low enough so that only Naruko managed to hear him, "That it's our fault:"

Naruko hummed a catchy tune, as if she hadn't heard him.

"You're listening to me, Dobe?"

"He got two awesome teammates," Naruko cheerfully hissed out, "I'm not using the Kyuubi anymore than you're using your sharingan. Why don't you guilt trip someone else, Uke-chan?"

Sasuke clicked his tongue against his teeth, "Fine."

Once Shinku reached the start of a branch, Sasuke spoke again.

"Now, tree walking is one of the basic skills taught to any shinobi of Konoha. We're the village hidden in the leaves, so it's obvious we had some trademark move with trees, right?"

"Meh," Naruko yawned. "No history lesson, that's boring! Anyway Shin-chan, what you need to do is use chakra to remove friction a split-second _after_ you've pushed your feet off the ground. Instead of pouring out chakra, suck it in."

"Then remember you need to put it back if you want to stick to the surface on the other side," Sasuke shot back. "Naruko? Demonstrate and head to that branch over there."

The girl pouted, before getting down on all fours as if readying herself for a run. She dashed ahead a moment later, jumping and literally soaring through the air before landing feet first against the branch in question.

Shinku closed his eyes and rubbed them with his left hand.

"I have to do that?" he asked warily.

"That's pretty easy," Sasuke said. "It looks difficult, but it's not that difficult."

"I have to do _that_." This time, he simply pointed out the distance between the branches.

"That's not really a long distance. Just remember: friction before the jump, no friction during the jump, friction once more before landing."

"Oh, right;" Shinku muttered. "Easy does it, Shinku."

Then he charged ahead.

The next moment he slipped on his own feet as friction came less before his jump, making him literally ski over the branch's surface.

"GAHH!" he screamed as he jumped, twisting his body in mid-air as he flailed around.

Instead of falling to his doom however, Naruko jumped back gripping onto his midriff and bringing him back to the safety of the thick branch.

"Really Shin-chan!" Naruko pouted, "Are you an early shot? You need to wait! It's no friction after the jump! Not before!"

His heart was beating furiously in his chest as he breathed raggedly.

"Come on now, Shin-chan! Second try's always the best one," Naruko flickered back to the previous branch. "You can do it Shin-chan!" she waved at him.

"Keep your calm," Sasuke stated plainly. "Think of it as just another step forward…there's the body-flicker, or Shunshin technique, to learn after this one. They're all really basic jutsu…"

The way Sasuke said it supposedly meant to encourage him, yet all it did was to make him feel inadequate. He felt a light breeze rustle his hair and forehead sticky with sweat, his sight blurred for a moment. He didn't feel well, but he was a shinobi and thus, he had to endure it. Frankly, he was setting his own bar too high for his tastes but if he wanted to walk alongside these prodigies…then he had to, didn't he?

At least until he made Chuunin. At least until he could leave the team for a nice and comfortable desk job.

He would stamp documents all day long, or write reports stringy and to the point. He'd boringly look at the clock pass the mark for the morning coffee break, and then the lunch break. He'd yawn for a good amount of time, and then return home after his work was done. He'd probably have a nice, average dinner, and then head over to bed for another boring, average day to begin.

He just had to jump past a branch and remember to remove friction after the jump.

Even if he didn't have his right side unresponsive, even then it would have been hard. As it was, it truly seemed impossible. He still jumped all the same. Maybe it was because he didn't want to look bad, or maybe it simply was because he was too stupid to say no.

In the end, he jumped once more.

And once more, of course, Naruko had to tackle him in mid-air because he nearly fell.

"Well, at least you didn't slip?" she nervously chuckled. Her forehead then bumped against his, and her eyes widened for a brief second. "Ohi! Shin-chan! You've got a fever!"

"Uh?" Shinku blinked. "I feel fine."

"No you don't!" Naruko shook her head. Another hand clammed against his forehead —this one belonging to Sasuke.

"I agree with the Dobe. If you're not feeling well you should say it."

"I feel fine," he muttered. "Really."

"Anyway," Naruko looked around. "We're covering our tracks this time. Uke-chan, you go hunting for once. I'll find a nice place to rest while…" she created over a thousand clones, "These guys here make enough mess and noise towards the other side of the jungle that I doubt anyone will know just who passed where."

"A smart idea for once comes out from your mouth?" Sasuke snorted, "Frankly it was about time."

"Ohi, you want to start a fight?" Naruko hoisted Shinku —without even letting him say 'no' to the idea— on her back. "Well, I'll take Shin-chan for his afternoon nap then."

"What is he, a baby?" Sasuke commented.

"Aw, you're jealous Uke-chan? Don't worry, mommy is going to cradle you too," Naruko winked. "Just eat your pickles and don't be fussy."

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered as he flickered away.

"Teme," Naruko returned as she too dashed in the air. Shinku held on with his left arm as strong as he could. The speed…it was different. It felt like being wringed, as if air wasn't even there in front of them as they went. There was nothing but…but well, emptiness.

"Shin-chan?" Naruko said as they went, "You asleep?"

"N-No," he was holding on as if his life depended on it, but he wasn't asleep.

"You know, you don't have to push yourself so hard," she said quietly. "I mean…there's a limit. Sure, you have to push yourself hard, but…but sometimes if you push too hard you don't get what you want."

"I wasn't…"

"No, no, let me finish 'cause it's important," Naruko continued. "We're a team. Everyone provides something to the team. Those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. That's easy, right?"

Shinku hummed his agreement, mostly because his throat felt parched now.

"So, you don't have to prove yourself. I'm sure you've got your own thing. Maybe it's pushing yourself hard or maybe not, but really, there's a difference between training and trying to commit suicide. You're wounded, so rest it out. And, well," she muttered, "I might have set your wound so if it hurts I suppose it is my fault but…"

"Uh?"

"I mean, you were bleeding out! We cauterized it and all but if you've got a fever and maybe it's infected, so…"

"I'm…fine?"

"But you aren't," Naruko muttered. "So…what I mean is…I'm sorry?"

"For…what?"

"Ah, Uke-chan's got a bit of a persecution complex, so you know how he is…always thinking something happens because…"

Shinku's eyes dropped to a close as Naruko's voice actually lulled him to sleep.

Naruko sighed as she felt the left arm relax —it had been nearly choking her throat to begin with— and looked around. She was being a hypocrite, and she knew it. She had trained hard —harder than anyone else had, really…and she had the _scars_ to prove it.

Sasuke's words still rung around her head, even as she found a nice hole in the middle of a tree trunk to hide inside —and with enough space for Uke-chan too. Maybe they really ought to apologize, but then again…how could one apologize for simply being themselves? She hadn't asked to be born with the weight of the Kyuubi on her shoulders, just like Sasuke hadn't asked for the sharingan of his brother.

In the end, maybe, the truth was that there had been _jealousy_ in her eyes as she watched the civilian barge in her life. A bit of possessiveness had added to her spite too and, thus…

She groaned, banging her head against the sides of the trunk. It was hard trying to put into actions what she thought. Was she supposed to apologize or not? Then again, why did she have to?

She hadn't done anything wrong. So what if she hadn't liked having Shinku in the team? It wasn't as if she had sliced his throat.

No…in the end…

She'd just forget about it. Shinku was part of the team now, and that was all. If Kakashi-Nii tried any funny business again, she'd show him.

A clone of hers went to look for Sasuke, as she ripped out one of her sleeves to form a bandana for Shinku's sweating forehead. Maybe she should have found a cooler place near a river…but if she had, then there was the risk Kakashi-Nii would simply separate them once more.

She gently swiped away the sweat from Shinku's forehead, before returning to her guard spot. She'd take turns with Uke-chan —hopefully, he'd have found dinner by then.

On a branch, a bit further away, Kakashi watched the scene with a bored look and then eye-smiled with his only eye.

"No subdual for tonight," he said cheerfully. "Let's start that Anbu training with the trainees."

Inwardly, Yugao sighed in relief.

Outwardly, every other Anbu trainee began to shudder in fear.

**Author's notes**

**Things are starting to look up…**

**By. The. Way.**

**Shinku is now more powerful than Canon-Sakura.**

…

**You think I'm joking? Think again. Though S. had perfect chakra control, until the three years timeskip she did not use it for anything. (Breaking Genjutsu? Climbing Trees?)**

**And she didn't even try to train with her team.**

**Shinku instead tries. He might not have 'Perfect Chakra Control' but as of this moment, he is stronger than Canon Sakura.**

***hurray***


	17. Sentimental Values

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Seventeen

He woke up to the smell of cooked meat, with his stomach grumbling loudly its hunger.

"I heard that," Naruko's voice came to his ears. "If you're hungry then I think you're feeling better now, right?"

Something wet touched his lips. "Drink slowly," Sasuke's voice came next. "Slowly…"

He took a hesitant sip, before coughing as the water went down his parched throat. "You slept an entire day. Well, can't fault you," Sasuke continued. "We've still got twenty-five days to go."

"Uh?"

"We arrived on day one. On day two, we were subdued and dropped away from our food supplies. On day three, the tigers attacked and we lost sight of you. On day four we found you again…and well, I suppose this is day five depending on how you see it," Sasuke continued.

"Unless our arrival here counts as day zero, meaning we have twenty-six days to go," Naruko's voice came from a corner. "You just hang in there, Shin-chan."

"Sorry," he croaked out.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Sasuke grumbled. "Let's just make sure you get better."

"The wound's clean by the way," Naruko said. "It closed up and all, so it's just the bone that hurts."

Shinku just groaned as he opened his eyes, blearily taking in the half-dimmed surroundings. Even though it was day, there was a thick bark now covering the 'entrance'.

"We're hiding in here," Naruko explained in a low voice. "Uke-chan got us rabbit and mushrooms. Dried meat is better than nothing I suppose. We can last long in here by taking turns fetching the water. We can outwit Kakashi-Nii by staying here…it's going to be boring," she muttered, "But it's safe."

"What…of…training?"

"Ah, well, you've got to get better first," Naruko added hastily. "And we'll take things slower. There's no need to risk it in here. We can still train once we get out of here," she said, "although I suppose Kakashi-Nii will actually teach us something, rather than leave us in here."

Five minutes later, and Naruko began to tap her foot against the ground as Shinku slowly munched on a roasted mushroom. "There's something I need to tell you, Shin-chan," Naruko said as he finished the 'meal'.

He nodded slowly, as if inviting her to continue talking.

"I…Well, I have the Kyuubi inside of me," she started.

"Yes?"

"And…well, I can use its powers if I want to;" she continued. "Like, he pays me rent you know?"

Shinku blinked. "Is there…something I should know?"

"If I use too much of it, I tend to go down the deep end," Naruko muttered. "Dad made a great effort to make sure everyone knew I was a great hero for keeping him jailed, and he had to press the argument of the seal being impossible to break but…"

She took a deep breath, "the Kyuubi's chakra is bad, it…it influences things, people…it influences me too when I use it so…so if my eyes turn red and I go on a rampage, you have to steer clear all right? I don't want to hurt anyone, and if I end up using it then it's because someone already got hurt but…I don't want to hurt anyone."

She looked down. "That's…because it happened once already," she bit on her lips. "I trained hard, really hard…and in the end I overstepped my boundaries. Mom stopped me but…well, I hurt her," Naruko fidgeted. "That's why I hate using the Kyuubi's chakra. That's why I don't want to use it."

"Since we're in the mood for stories," Sasuke went next, "I'll tell you mine," the Uchiha closed his eyes. "The Uchiha have the sharingan. A special evolution of the sharingan is the Mangekyou sharingan. To obtain it, one must suffer the agony of losing someone they cherish —be it their brother, their loved one, their best friend…"

Sasuke chuckled grimly. "An even stronger version is called the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. To obtain a normal Mangekyou is both a blessing and a curse, because one grows progressively blinder the more he utilizes it. To obtain one that does not render the user blind, to obtain…the perfect sharingan, one has to rip the Mangekyou Sharingan eyes out of their next of kin and substitute them."

His eyes opened then, pitch black as always.

"My brother had the Mangekyou, and he was sick…I never asked him how he obtained it, I never cared about that but…one night, I realized he had slipped out of his room —he was already bedridden by then, and couldn't even muster the strength to walk." Sasuke swallowed hard, before closing his eyes once more.

"I went to look for him and when I finally found him…it was too late. He ripped my eyes out, and replaced them with his own. I…I have my brother's eyes in my eye sockets and…" Sasuke's face turned slightly green, "And that was the day he died. His last act for me was to rip my eyes out of my face and replace them with his…I still remember him, I still remember his words…and…and that's why I refuse to use the sharingan…his sharingan. I don't care if it's supposed to be a powerful Doujutsu…I'm not going to use my brother's eyes for war. He…He always valued peace."

Shaking his head, Sasuke made a bitter laugh. "To this day, I can't understand his last words. 'So that it won't happen again'. I…I don't know why he said that. I don't know why he did that…but I know that…in the end…" he swallowed nervously, "He cared for me…but his way of showing it…maybe he was too sick to think about another way, to think it properly through…even then, is there a proper way to be screwed up?"

Shinku didn't reply. What could he say?

It was then that both pair of eyes settled on him.

They were sharing their own secrets, heavy as they were, with him. It felt like being entered in a 'sect', with everyone having to deliver their most terrifying and hidden secret. What did he have to compare? Nothing. He didn't have the Kyuubi in his guts or a psychopathic brother with a powerful Doujutsu.

The most he had of grim was the fact he communicated with post-it notes with his parents, and even that paled to compare.

He really had nothing…

"I…" he exhaled. No, there was something. "I was supposed to…" but it was meaningless. It was outright stupid. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say…"

Silence settled between the three of them.

"I studied hard for the final exam," Shinku said then. "I was borderline dead-last. If I passed the last test with a decent mark, I might have not been the dead-last." He muttered, "Truth is…I didn't want to be in this team," he exhaled. "A lot of the other students, they began to fail their classes in purpose. I…frankly, I didn't want to. I'm not cut out for the shinobi life, for limb-risking missions were there is a chance of death. I didn't say what my dream was because, frankly…it's stupid." He chuckled.

"I just want to be an administrative Chuunin. Sitting behind a desk, stamping documents…it's not a great dream like being an Anbu captain or becoming a high-ranked Jounin that the other students had. I know it sounds strange —why bother with the academy if you aren't cut out for the shinobi life— but I…" he exhaled.

"My friend asked me, my parents agreed, and I went. I'm weak. I know that. I'm weak in more ways than one and I know it, but…but if I have to choose between crawling in a ditch and dying or at least trying and then failing…I'd rather try." He shook his head slowly. "Frankly, I'm unsure if this is even worth an inch of what you two went through…I'm pretty sure it isn't but…there, I said it. Now we're all stuck together, right?"

Naruko blinked.

"That has to be the most words you ever said, Shin-chan," she pointed out.

"And clearly," Sasuke said then, "It could have gone worse. Think if we had ended up with a fan girl," the raven haired Uchiha shuddered, "Or a fan boy."

Naruko shuddered at that, "Ugh! Creepy! Why can't all boys keep believing in cooties!?" she mock-sniffled, "I know I'm too beautiful for this mortal world, but please," she mock-huffed, throwing one of her golden twin-tails behind her head, "I'm not interested shouldn't be that difficult to understand."

Sasuke snorted. "Especially because the moment they hear you speak they clearly need to have an empty head to stick around," the Uchiha chuckled.

"Ohi! You're sticking around!"

"My mother would flail me alive and burn me if I dared leave 'poor little Naru-chan alone'."

"Well, Shin-chan's sticking around too, and he isn't an airhead!"

"Dead-last here," Shinku raised his left hand in a light wave. "I think Sasuke is right."

"Muuuh! Oh, for the love of…stop bantering against me! Come on, can't I have a shoulder at least once?"

"Don't blame me, Bimbo. The Uchiha is just more charismatic than the Namikaze."

"But I have breasts! Shin-chan, aren't you a man!? I knew it! It's Uke-chan's Uke power! That's why!" Naruko whined lightly, fake-tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. "It's just because I don't have a sausage, right? But I swear I can change!"

"I'm going to say bullshit," Sasuke stated lightly.

"Oh yeah?" Naruko's forehead sported a tick mark, flailing her fist in front of her. "I'm going to show you! _Oiroke no Jutsu!"_

The next moment, a puff of smoke gave way to reveal a busty, big-breasted woman completely naked if not for small clouds covering her nipples and privates. "Uchiha-sama! Please…have I grown?"

Sasuke blinked once.

Then, calmly, he grabbed a stick. Slowly, he began to sharpen it.

"Uke-chan?"

Once he was done with the pointy stick, Sasuke brought it in front of him. "Uhm…if I place both of those useless lumps of flesh on a stick and roast them, you think we'll have enough food for the entire month, Shinku?"

"You evil Uke-chan!" Naruko exclaimed pushing her arms to cover her breasts. "What about you Shin-chan?" when she turned towards the other boy, he was already with his eyes closed and sleeping.

Naruko pouted, before returning to her normal 'clothed' appearance. "You're lucky you're tired and wounded Shin-chan. Muh! That's no way to treat a lady."

"That's because you're not a lady," Sasuke continued. "You're an idiotic and moronic bimbo."

It was to that banter, that Shinku Haruno actually fell asleep.

After all, he had managed —dead last or not— to swipe away the dribble of blood form his nose with enough speed.

Kakashi closed his Icha-Icha.

"I finished reading it," he said plainly, watching as the Anbu trainee all fell down from exhaustion. "Very well, while you lot rest," he looked towards the sky. "Time to snuff out some little Genin for some training…if they won't train, well…I'll just have to remind them of the consequences."

"K…Kakas-shi-tai-chou…" Yugao stammered out, her entire body wracked in pain from the fatigue.

"Rest well Cat-san," Kakashi replied. "I'll take good care of them all."

Then he flickered away.

One should never lower his guard after all.

It was one thing all shinobi learned —some learned it with the blood of their teammates on their hands, while holding their bleeding corpses…and others learned it watching as limbs or eyes were lost.

In the end, he was doing it for his Genin, rather than for a sick sense of satisfaction. They needed to suffer now so that, in the future, they would not.

By the time they left the forest of Death they would be ready for the Chuunin exams —he would make sure of it— after all, everything he did was to prepare them for those.

They were the safest bet for promotion of both Naruko and Sasuke. They would be in Konoha, with the second part in the Forest of Death. The tournament would be in Konoha after a month. It was that, waiting years, or risking the exams in Sunagakure.

Everything had a reason, after all.

Because of that, his hands went through the hand seals of the Katon Gōkakyū.

Because of that, he remained unfazed as the tree began to burn.

**Author's notes**

**Tree-Hanger.**

**Everything is going to be so, so nice!**

**And butterflies will fly.**


	18. Unrealistic Expectations

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Eighteen

The smell of smoke was the first thing that alerted Naruko that something was wrong. The moment she moved the 'bark' door away and realized what was going on, she screamed.

"Wake up! The tree's on fire!"

Sasuke was up in less than a second. "I'll take care of the food! Grab Shinku!"

Shinku's eyes snapped open the moment Naruko hoisted him on her back, but before he could even speak, he ground his teeth from the sheer speed that followed. Naruko landed on a nearby branch —she had shunshin'd out— and Sasuke soon followed. Naruko gently lowered him back on the branch then, and as the trio looked around perplexed…

Kakashi flickered into existence on the nearby branch.

"Hello my darling students!" he exclaimed, waving his right hand and eye smiling. "Did you sleep well today?"

"Kakashi-Nii!" Naruko yelled, "What the hell do you think you're doing!? We could have died in there!"

"This isn't even training, it's attempted murder," Sasuke snarled. "This farce has gone on long enough."

"Ah, ah, ah!" Kakashi shook slowly his right hand's index finger, before cocking his head to the side. "You slept during the day, didn't you all? No training during the day means you're going to train at night."

"Kakashi-Nii," Naruko swallowed, "Really?"

"Yep! And since the one who did less out of you all is Shinku-kun, well, I'll just have to tie him to a tree," his eye flicked to where the burning one was. "Uhm…I wonder if I should start with Taijutsu training."

"This isn't funny," Naruko snarled. "Really, Kakashi-Nii, what the hell do you think we're made of?"

"Great things are expected from prodigies, I speak from experience of course," Kakashi said cheerfully. "Course, Shinku-kun can't understand but by the time we'll be done he'll either be up to par with you two…or dead, in which case we'll just take another one," he clapped his hands. "_Isn't it great that nobody cares if he dies or lives?_"

"What?" Shinku's voice came out cracked as his eyes widened. "You're lying!"

"Uhm…nope," Kakashi shrugged. "I mean, I could be lying, but if I were would I really go this far?" he pointed to the burning tree. "I told your parents there was a risk you could simply die during the training, they were even grateful about it," Kakashi chuckled. "Ah, isn't it nice to be a disposable shinobi?"

"Ohi Shin-chan! Kakashi-Nii is lying! I've lost count of the times he came at us with psychological attacks first! I'm sure your parents love you very much!"

"Uhm, I wonder…well," Kakashi shrugged, "I still think you have been lazy enough today, so tonight we'll work you extra hard."

"Shin-chan's shoulder isn't fully healed yet," Naruko muttered, "Can't we skip for once?"

"Ah, I've got another idea," Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Since you two are clearly trying to let poor Shinku-kun lag behind, I'll let him decide," the silver-haired Jounin hummed then, even as the tree nearby began to burn. "I can start the Taijutsu practice with you first, or with you last. Maybe you're lucky and you'll manage to hide while I train the other two," Kakashi cracked his knuckles. "Or maybe you won't be lucky and I'll just train you last."

Kakashi giggled. "But! If these two manage to last for an hour then I won't train you too —even Jounin need their beauty sleep."

"Ohi! Shin-chan, me and Uke-chan can take it!"

"At the same time, if you go first and _survive_ for one hour then I won't train them for today."

"Why did you stress the 'survive', Kakashi-Nii?"

"Of course, I won't be pulling back any punches while dealing with Shinku-kun here. He is in need of urgent reparations," Kakashi's smile, through the mask, was terrifying to behold. The burning tree behind him gave his appearance that of a demon from hell itself, rather than a simple human being. "Oh but don't worry, I don't make favouritism. Just as I'm likely to break Shinku-kun's right leg, I'm likely to do the same to you all."

Chuckling a bit louder, Kakashi relaxed his shoulders.

"So, Shinku-kun, what will it be? You come first and risk your life, or you come last and risk your teammates' life?"

"Kakashi-Nii is always about not abandoning teammates," Naruko muttered in a low whisper, "Don't worry Shin-chan, this is another underneath the underneath."

Shinku swallowed, before taking a step forward.

"I…I'm coming first."

"Uhm…" Kakashi's only eye half-closed, before his left hand went to his bandana. "Very well then," his sharingan came out, "Let's begin."

The next moment, a Raikiri slammed through Shinku's chest, where his heart was. Shinku's mouth filled with blood as the stench of charred flesh filled his nostrils. A fist then slammed on his face —the Raikiri was but a Genjutsu— followed by a kick that went against his wounded shoulder. He cried out in pain as the strength of the blow shot him out of the branch and in mid-air.

His eyes widened as a kunai slashed through his neck, the sensation of blood spraying as he fell in direction of the ground making him scream even louder as…

His eyes opened, it had all been a Genjutsu. The relief lasted until his fingers one by one snapped and smashed to a pulp, as Kakashi punched him on the wrist —smashing the bone apart with the sheer strength of the attack.

Shinku screamed as he went knees first on the ground, his stomach yielding his lunch to the branch as he retched.

"Uhm," Kakashi hummed. "Those were just a few of the methods I can use," he added half-heartedly. "I know many more."

"Shin-chan! Ohi! Kakashi-Nii, you said Taijutsu!"

"Well, but I always begin with Genjutsu," Kakashi retorted with his usual carefree voice.

"I'm going to die here," Shinku muttered. The smell of charred wood filled his nostrils. "I don't want to die," his eyes hurt from tears that did not want to come out. He coughed as the smoke reached his mouth.

"Not my problem, kid," Kakashi remarked. "You shouldn't have been the dead-last of this year. In your next life, try to study harder."

Then Kakashi charged ahead —was it a lie, was it reality— and the fist nearly impacted against his forehead when a hand shot forth to parry it.

"Ohi!" Naruko yelled, "Stop bullying Shin-chan! That's really mean Kakashi-Nii!"

"Mah, mah," Kakashi chuckled, "You think I'm bullying him? I know his type," his sharingan eye locked with Shinku's own eyes, "He's the type of _children_ who thinks being a shinobi is all fun and games. Maybe he thinks being a shinobi is only about making an impression on cute girls, or having a steady salary," Kakashi grabbed Naruko by the scruff of the neck, before throwing her back to slam against Sasuke.

"I know his type. He will run at the first adversity, leaving his teammates behind to fend off for themselves because he is too scared to properly think about it," Kakashi's voice was a low growl. "And that is something I will not forgive." The lightning formed in Kakashi's hand then. It felt real. It looked real. It probably was real. Shinku swallowed. "So, I'm giving you one last chance."

Kakashi chuckled. "You move aside, and I'll train those two while you watch from the sidelines. I won't ask you to bleed like them, or retch like them after harsh training. If you don't move aside, you might die. Because I'll train you even as your bone break and your heart gives away. I'll train you until you have nothing left of weak or dead-last…"

Kakashi's eyes both shone. "And I'll probably break you along the way. So…move aside."

"I'm not moving," Shinku swallowed. "I…"

"This isn't a game, or an underneath the underneath boy," Kakashi snarled. "You don't move from that spot, and you will die. Be it tomorrow or in two years, you will die. Do you understand me? You. Will. Die."

"I'm…I'm not moving."

"Very well then," Kakashi smiled. His Raikiri slammed into Shinku's guts, the boy screaming as the lightning technique carves its bloody way through his entire body. This felt far more real than the Genjutsu of before, and as blood sprayed out of his mouth, he fell on the ground twitching as his sight darkened.

The next moment, he blearily blinked them open to the branches of the forest of Death. He recognized them because the giant anaconda was slithering its way by, yet one more giant bear in its jaws. The creature was probably hunting for the winter or something like that.

He breathed in deeply —the air was cool, and the noise of rushing water reached his ears.

Shinku stood, half-expecting to see heaven or hell, or maybe even Kami. He instead came to his senses near the river, with Naruko and Sasuke intent on catching fishes.

He blinked as he watched Sasuke throw a kunai at a fish, impaling it and then pulling it back with the steel wire tied to the handle of the weapon.

His stomach wasn't hurting him —his right side still hurt, but at least…had he dreamed it all?

"Ohi, Shin-chan!" Naruko was the first one to realize he was awake. "You're awake!"

"Yes," he muttered, flinching as Naruko flickered right next to him to slam her hand against his forehead. The hand was definitively cold.

"No fever!" she yelled towards Sasuke. "You up for some training, Shin-chan?"

"What happened…last night?" he muttered, frowning.

"Well," Naruko rolled her eyes. "After Kakashi-Nii knocked you around a bit he dropped you on the ground —really, I think he was happy about something because he then proceeded to pummel me and Sasuke not that much. I took the worst of the 'training' afterwards —I'm already healed— and sour duck-butt Uchiha can't sit for the next few hours because…"

"If you tell him that, I'll kill you!" Sasuke yelled, "I swear, Dobe!"

"Well, the one thousand years of pain technique is really evil," Naruko nodded sagely.

"YOU BIMBO!"

"Oh, shush it, Uke-chan! I know you moaned in pleasure and took it like the Uke you are!"

Shinku found himself on his feet in less than a moment.

"That's all that happened last night?" he managed to stammer out before, once more, he found himself atop a branch. He felt woozy from the quick change of scenery and movement, but if he had been moved like that, then it meant he wasn't really wounded.

"Yep," Naruko smiled. "We had to kind-of move because Kakashi-Nii burned our tree, but I found another so it's all right. We just need to cover our tracks and train once a day —training you counts too— and then we're all set." Then she patted him on the shoulder. "And Kakashi-Nii was lying, he said so after you were knocked down. Your parents don't really want you to die Shin-chan. I told him he was being a bully saying something like that, so you don't have to worry."

Shink exhaled a breath he didn't even know he had been holding.

"Well, once more," Naruko flickered to a nearby branch. "Try and jump to here Shin-chan!"

Shinku breathed in deeply, before exhaling.

He could do it.

He would probably fail the first time.

He would probably fail the second, the third, the fourth time he tried. He would fail the sixth and the nineteenth —albeit that was because he had been so close— and the twentieth would be a near-win.

By the twenty-fifth, it was no longer about slipping at the beginning but about judging the right distance. By the forty-fourth, he could land on the opposite branch given one minute.

The sun was setting, and albeit Shinku Haruno could not 'tree walk' at a pace faster than a limping shinobi…now he could.

"I'm so proud Shin-chan," Naruko sniffled wiping away a fake tear. "Now you can tree-walk! I feel so proud!"

It didn't even bother him that Naruko was mock-imitating a mother seeing their child walk for the first time. It had been years since someone had actually _told_ him he was doing something that made them proud. It felt good.

The burning tree hadn't even charred him to begin with, so really, things were looking up.

Kakashi quietly hummed from his spot atop the branches, smiling brightly as Yugao gazed from him to his team with apprehension. "You didn't kill any of them?" she asked perplexed —in a pleasant way, of course. "Thank god."

"Mah…I feel hurt," Kakashi mock-pouted, "I know when to hold my punches," he cheerfully tapped his fingers together. "But this is getting sort of boring, don't you think so too Neko-chan?"

"What are you implying, Kakashi-Taichou?"

"There's a long time before the end of the month," he hummed. "Maybe I could let them leave earlier…" he giggled, "Provided they pass my final test."

"Kakashi-Taichou?"

"I tested the weak link up until now," Kakashi muttered. "I will lull them in a sense of peace, once more…and then I will test the strong links," his eye narrowed to a thin slit. "I wonder…will this straw shatter them?"

"Taichou, are you sure you…"

"I am always sure, Neko-chan," Kakashi remarked with his carefree voice. "Those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash," he said, "But then…what of those who _betray_ their teammates? What of those who _kill_ their teammates?"

Kakashi's right hand went inside his jacket, clenching tightly on the small rock ball covered in dried blood.

"What does that make them, Neko-chan?"

Yugao didn't reply.

The sky darkened as a thunderstorm slowly began to build up.

**Author's notes**

***organ music starts playing***

***Du-Du-Dum***


	19. Killing Choices

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Nineteen

Two days of peace went by.

Those were two days of nothing but simply the ferocious animals of the forest to contend with, without any intervention from Kakashi, the Anbu's 'subdual' training or anything else. Shinku was starting to get lulled in by the sensation that yes, he could do this.

He could tree walk now, and albeit the shunshin was an extension of that, he had his work cut off for him. The shunshin's principle was pretty much the same as the tree walking, only the 'chakra suction' had to happen on the entire front of a shinobi's body. The end-result would be that without forward friction and with a good enough speed, they'd 'flicker' out of existence.

Shunshin could only thus happen in a forward and straight line and the amount of chakra used decided how far one could go.

The lack of pain on his right arm was also a nice bonus. He had been lucky —the risk of infections and gangrene had shaken him quite a bit in the night— but he was out of dangers. The days were peaceful, barring the giant anaconda that every now and then ended up in his view —did it really have to hunt bears so close to him to begin with?

He closed his eyes, catching his breath before trying the shunshin one more time. The chakra came less from his front —it gave the strangest sensations on the skin, as if there was a vacuum right in front of him that demanded to be filled— and then he made a light jump. He reached halfway, before the effort proved too much for him and he opened his eyes. His body twitched, and as chakra returned —as did friction— he felt as if a brick wall had just slammed into his body.

Shinku fell on the ground twitching and groaning, as Sasuke remarked.

"You're taking away chakra too abruptly, and getting it back too quickly. You need to smooth it in and out," the Uchiha exhaled, "Once more."

Weakly, Shinku stumbled back on his feet and dusted off.

Naruko arrived a few minutes later, carrying an anaconda as big as a small dog on her back. The snake was dead, but it still made Shinku shudder.

"Dobe, what the hell is that?"

"It's a snake, Teme. You know, food!"

"Snakes are filled with bones, dobe! We tried one yesterday!"

"Ohi! This thing was just taking the sun! It was easy to catch and I did it! Beggars can't be choosers!"

Shinku exhaled.

"I get that, but why is it that I can find rabbits in here and you don't?" Sasuke retorted.

"What the hell do I know about that, Teme? Maybe you're secretly a half-bunny Uke-chan! Uhm…rabbit ears on your head would look kind of cute, I suppose…enhance the Uke in you, right?"

Shinku slowly began to remove the chakra from in front of him.

"At least I'd have something to enhance, differently from you," Sasuke quipped back.

Shinku moved forward with a light jump. The next instant a fist slammed into his guts, making him keel over the extended arm of a woman. The only thing he saw was a fishnet shirt and a Jounin vest —purple hair and hazel eyes didn't enter his equation.

Kakashi eye-smiled as he came down.

"Hello my darling Genin!" he nodded towards Anko. "Mitarashi-san, you can take Shinku-kun. Don't go too far of course."

Anko smiled. "Oh, you should have called me sooner for this!" cackling lightly, the woman grabbed the nearly heaving Shinku and flickered out of the meadow.

"Shin-chan!" Naruko's eyes widened, before turning on Kakashi. "What's this about, Kakashi-Nii!?"

"I realize I was being unfair," Kakashi said, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not actually teaching you anything right now, right? So," he hummed thoughtfully. "So, I thought about teaching you something that the Academy or your parents had yet to do."

"Eh?" Naruko blinked, as Sasuke instead narrowed his eyes.

"Where did you send Shinku?" the Uchiha asked.

"Uhm…I dunno," Kakashi shrugged as a circle of Anbu flickered in from all sides, barring their escape. "I wonder though…let's say we're a team of enemy shinobi, and we captured one of your own." Kakashi smiled. "We're holding him hostage, you know? You can leave," he said. "We're all here. You can make a break for the training ground and, if you leave now, the training exercise will be over for you two. Shinku will unfortunately have to complete it alone, but I'm sure he'll survive somehow."

"That's bullshit number one, Kakashi-Nii," Naruko snarled.

"Good," Kakashi eye-smiled, "Then let's start with the truth…Sasuke, kill Naruko or Anko will break Shinku's left leg."

Sasuke's stare filled with scorn. "Really? You think we'll actually believe you'd—"

Kakashi pushed his index finger next to his ear, "Anko? Break a leg, would you?"

"Oh," a radio transmitted in the clearing, "What a pity…Already with the legs? No fingers? Very well then."

Shinku's voice came in next, "Uh? Hey, can't we talk abo…"

Then his screams filled the meadow, soon followed by his sniffles.

"No fainting on me boy," Anko's voice came cackling next. "We have a long way to go."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully, as he stared at the pale faces of the two Genin in front of him.

"Kakashi-Nii? That's a lie, right?" Naruko asked slowly. "You wouldn't…"

The man shrugged. "Naruko, kill Sasuke or Shinku loses an arm."

"That's not funny, Kakashi-Nii…not funny at all…"

"Anko."

There was a loud snap, followed by another scream and more sniffles afterwards. "Why?" Shinku's trembling voice came like a whip through the meadow they were in.

Naruko swallowed, and then looked around. "You can't prove this is really happening, Kakashi-Nii."

Kakashi hummed once more.

"Well then," he looked up, towards the treetops, "Anko? Chop a finger off and send it this way."

"You know that one should start slow and then build up his way right?" Anko's voice crackled in through the radio. "Very well…hold still boy."

"Hey, wait, no…why are you doing this!?" the crying voice of Shinku soon became nothing more than an incoherent screaming.

"No fainting on me boy!" Anko's voice came once more. "I'm sending you the finger, Kakashi."

Naruko's hands clenched as she watched a snake slither close, a finger in its jaws.

Sasuke brought a hand to his mouth, holding the vomit in his throat. "Ugh…"

"We have captured your teammate," Kakashi droned out, "_Choose_."

"I saw where the snake was coming from," Naruko muttered. "He can't be that far off if the finger was still bleeding."

"They're all Anbu, Dobe," Sasuke hissed. "What do you expect?"

"You know," Kakashi remarked dryly, "That Anbu forces are probably all you will face on missions outside of the village? If you two can't survive this meagre ambush, if you two can't actually save Shinku-kun from the clutches of his executioners…you know, you'd be the ones responsible for his death," he eye-smiled. "I'm sure you could always leave him in the care of Anko. She's a prodigy too you know? Of the torture and interrogation department," Kakashi chuckled.

Naruko's teeth bit down on her lips, drawing blood. Her entire frame shuddered. "Is that the point…you're trying to make, Kakashi-Nii?"

"Yes," Kakashi retorted. "Shit happens, when it happens it doesn't aim at the prodigies, but at those around them. I know it. You can be prodigies all you wish to be, but those around you who are not will take the full brunt of your 'prodigal' status…like enemy shinobi coming after you for revenge, enemy shinobi wanting to know about your village's status or secrets. They will all come after the weak link and if the strong links aren't really all that strong…" he pushed his radio button once more.

"Anko? Break a wrist."

Shinku's voice was no longer even recognizable, raucous as it was.

"You know, hearing a teammate being tortured, a teammate with whom you trained and fought side by side for years is not funny," Kakashi carefully removed the bloody ball from within the sides of his flak jacket. "This, here, is my teammate," he chuckled grimly. "Obito Uchiha. He's dead. He's nothing more than a _compressed ball of dirt_ and you know why? Because I betrayed him. When he went to save our teammate, I let him go and completed the mission first. I came back for him later," Kakashi dryly laughed.

"They were torturing him, holding my other teammate hostage," he eye-smiled. "_I heard him scream through the entire day, waiting the night to strike_."

Naruko's face was green, while Sasuke looked sideways.

"By the time I finally entered their camp, he could no longer move. They had ripped his sharingan out of his eyes," Kakashi pointed at his covered one, "which I took back, of course," he looked towards them. "I killed them all, but at the last moment one of them got the better of us. Obito, tortured and blind as he was…he took the brunt of the attack in our place," he slowly placed the ball of dirt back in his flak jacket. "He died a hero, _saving a man who didn't deserve to be saved_."

A thunder streaked the sky.

"So, I'm not joking around, I'm not fooling around. This despair is _real_, because it can happen. You will have to face hard choices, hard decisions. I am not asking you to live only in despair…but it exists," he once more brought his right hand towards his ear.

"Anko? Break all of his limbs."

The screams died out in the interminable minute that followed, as only whimpers remained behind by the time Anko finished.

"Aw, he's crying," Anko's voice came through. "Well, I suppose that's a minus on the 'shinobi must kill their hearts' rule. Can I break something else? Like a rib?"

"Kakashi-Nii," Naruko said softly. "You let Shin-chan go now and nobody has to get hurt."

Kakashi just smiled.

"I'm with the Dobe on this." Sasuke growled. "This has gone on long enough, joke or not…truth or not…this is inhuman. It isn't training! It's plain and simple torture!"

"Well…then what do you choose?" Kakashi asked with his carefree voice now completely grating on the nerves of at least three people —Yugao being the third.

"We're taking Shin-chan out of here, 'ttebayo!" Naruko yelled, her hands moving to the Taju Kage Bunshin.

An anbu slammed a fist in her chest, interrupting her.

"Not fast enough, Naruko-chan," Kakashi said in a sing-sung voice. "Anko? They refuse to comply…well, _slit Shinku's throat_, would you?"

"Already?" Anko's voice came in a pout as Sasuke and Naruko's eyes widened in fright and disbelief. "Fine…sorry boy… seems your luck ran out."

"Put the microphone close, they need to hear the sound of a kunai slicing a neck," Kakashi said calmly, as two Anbu tackled down Sasuke while four proceeded to pin down Naruko.

There was a wet sound, like wet paper cut out. The sound of something liquid drumming on the microphone came next, together with little gurgles.

"Shinku Haruno has died during training," Kakashi shook his head. "Poor, poor Shinku…it seems he wasn't strong enough. Maybe it was simply because he had the wrong teammates?"

Crimson chakra flared from Naruko's body.

Kakashi smiled.

Purple chakra emerged from Sasuke's body.

Kakashi's smile grew slightly wider.

"YOU BASTARD!" a crimson chakra cloak covered Naruko's entire frame as she shot forth, her chakra-claw hand extended to slash at Kakashi.

Sasuke's Susanoo slammed the Anbu near him away, as the Mangekyou sharingan spun in his eyes. Sasuke clenched his fists and growled lightly, before closing his eyes. The Susanoo disappeared a moment later as he gagged for air.

Kakashi flickered away before the chakra claw could get to him.

The rest of the Anbu disappeared too.

In the meadow…only the two Genin remained.

Naruko began to sniffle. Sasuke slammed his right fist on the ground.

"I can't believe they really did it," Sasuke muttered, shaking his head.

A bush rustled.

Sasuke tensed —a kunai in his hand ready.

The bush then parted ways as a battered, but _whole_ Shinku appeared. He had a fresh scar on his right cheek, but except for that…he was whole.

"Ah…" he said, blinking as he looked at the two dumbstruck faces in front of him. "We can leave now. Mitarashi-san said so."

Naruko's face went from relief to anger in less than a second.

"_**KAKASHI-NIIIIIIIIII**_!"

A few branches away, Kakashi chuckled good-naturedly.

Yugao gave him a look, before turning to gaze at the pouting Anko.

"Why couldn't I really break a leg?" Anko whined. "You even had me use one of the fingers from my collection!"

"Where did you find the fresh blood anyway?" Kakashi asked back.

"I gave him a nice slice on the cheek," Anko giggled. "My, his squirming was so cute. I never get to have fun with young guys in the department. They always hand me tough and muscly 'I will Never Yield' shinobi."

Humming, Kakashi looked to the sky.

"It's going to start raining soon. Let's get out of here. Drinks on me…of course, the Anbu Trainee still have the rest of the month of training to do. Anko, you're with me. Neko-chan…good luck with your group!"

Yugao grumbled.

Shinku, meanwhile, fell on the ground tackled by Naruko —who hugged him. Sasuke snorted, before helping him back up and punching him on the shoulder lightly. "I think your name is Crimson because you keep on bleeding on us."

"Ah…sorry?"

"Don't be mean to Shin-chan, Uke-chan!"

"Can we just…leave?" Shinku said then. "Warm water sounds very nice to me right now."

"Last one out of the training ground of Death pays for Ramen!"

With that, Naruko flickered away…_carrying Shinku alongside_.

Sasuke growled, before following quickly.

The nightmare was over.

Problem was…a bigger one was coming.

**Author's notes**

…**You didn't expect **_**that**_** uh.**


	20. Unveil the Future

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty

Konoha was beautiful. The buildings were majestic and the people around were beautiful. Yes, Shinku had lost it, but at least he was home. He actually skipped the steps of the porch, before pulling out his keys and…

He was without keys.

He could have lost them at any moment in the forest of death. He swallowed a lump of nervousness, before closing his eyes and going 'thunk' with his head against the door.

Shinku had gone through giant snakes, the forest itself, packs of tigers, and even a psychotic woman who had used Genjutsu on him beyond his imagination. Yet here he was, outside of his house, without keys.

There was only one thing he could do, really.

Dirty as he was, covered in grime, sweat and even dried blood, he walked his way towards his parents' bakery.

There were quite a few grimaces as people took in his dirty hair and ragged clothes —did they think him a beggar or something? Probably. River water wasn't the easiest way to remain clean and he had nearly died more than once to begin with.

He should have gone to the hospital first, but the arm could wait until he took a shower.

It didn't even hurt him any longer —and it probably would, if the medics decided they had to break it back into position.

His parents' shop wasn't very crowded at that time of the day, and he managed to slip in with ease.

"That will be twenty-two ryo," his mother's voice said crisply to a customer.

His father moved a half-a dozen of baguettes out of the oven, before laughing with his usual strength. "Ahah! Masterpieces, like always!"

"Hey dad," Shinku croaked out, waving his hand.

Kizashi's eyes widened for a brief instant, as he probably tried to decipher who was the person beneath the dirt and the dried blood.

"Shinku!? My boy! What happened to you?"

"Training camp ended early," Shinku muttered, "I…Kind of lost the keys back there," he lowered his head, scratching the back of his hair.

"Of course, just take mine and go home," Kizashi replied kindly. "Then you'll have to tell us everything! How was training camp? Learned anything new with your team?"

"Oh yeah," Shinku replied nervously, "I did."

"Say goodbye to your mother before leaving, she really was worried about you," Kizashi's voice took a tone of concern, and Shinku nodded before moving towards the counter.

"Hey mom," he replied, waving towards her too. "I'm back."

"Oh!" Mebuki actually jumped on the other side of the counter, before hugging him tightly. "My son's back! How's my little boy doing!?"

The pain he felt in his right arm came back with a vicious vengeance as tears pooled in his eyes. "I'm…I'm…"

"Aw, you're so sensible aren't you? And what's this? Dried blood? My, you've got a wound on your cheek, really!" her right hand went to the 'freshest' of his wounds. "Doesn't look too deep."

"Ah, yeah…I was a bit…" a bit kidnapped by a psychotic purple haired woman, "I wasn't very careful with a kunai."

Mebuki shook her head in disapproval, "Well, accidents happen. You didn't tell us anything about your teammates. Were they any good? Right, course they were," Mebuki brought a hand to her mouth. "Sorry. You're going back home? Here, take some bread with you. You look positively famished. I wonder what your sensei cooked for you —is he a bad cook?"

"We cooked by ourselves," he actually didn't, because he spent most of the time knocked out. That did remind him of something however, and the moment he stepped outside with a few pieces of bread in a paper bag, his fingers gently touched the chocolate piece in his pockets.

It was still there —and it felt a bit sticky to boot.

The road back home was silent, as he munched on the bread like a famished soldier along the way. He threw the empty bag in the garbage bin, before taking out his father's keys and opening the door. Stepping inside, he exhaled in relief.

He was home.

Quiet, silent, without any other living being…

His own keys waited for him on the table in the kitchen, with a slip of paper beneath them.

"_You left these in the forest! I let myself in to give them back! Tomorrow, training ground Seven, don't be late! Signed: Kakashi-sensei!"_

"Tomorrow?" Shinku groaned as his head went 'thunk' once more against the table.

He had an 'late afternoon' snack already planned for Ichiraku…well, time was running and it was best he moved.

Taking the shower wasn't difficult —he just had to steer clear of the right side of his body and wash that gently. Putting on a large-sleeved shirt wasn't difficult either —he wasn't planning on attacking or being attacked in the village. Heading towards the hospital was actually easy when compared to the forest of Death.

Everything was easy, when compared to that hellish place born from hell.

There wasn't a queue, and he passed first.

"What is the problem?" the medic asked him, pulling his glasses up and gazing at him.

"I…A tiger mauled me a few days ago," he said.

"I have no time for jokes, boy," the medic retorted. "Where were you to begin with? The forest of Death?"

Shinku nodded, showing the shoulder.

"You're serious?" that actually got his full attention, the medic pulling the fabric of Shinku's shirt aside to examine it blanked his expression carefully after a few minutes of muttering. "Who sane of their mind…how long has this been left like this? It's a…well, someone tried to patch it, twice I'd say."

Shinku nodded.

"You understand I'll have to break it again to fit the bones properly," the medic said. "Thankfully using chakra, it will hurt only for a short while but I'll be done in less than an hour. I have to ask if you agree to the operation…"

Shinku swallowed and nodded again. The medic gave him a sympathetic look. "Your teacher didn't even bring you here in person? Is someone here with you I should warn?"

He shook his head.

The medic's eyes softened. "It's going to hurt a lot. We can do this with an anaesthetic and put you to sleep, if you'd like. You won't feel fine when you wake up tomorrow, but…or we can do a local one. You won't feel your arm —you'll have to look elsewhere while I break and repair— but you'll be able to walk it off."

"I have training tomorrow morning," he croaked out, "And…I have an appointment later this afternoon."

"Local it is then," the medic grimaced, "Just look that way."

In a certain sense, the light puncture of the needle was nothing compared to the forest. The fact he had to get naked and put on a paper-thin vest —for blood— was something that he did with comparative ease. It didn't even feel real…at least until the medic strapped him down and began to break and reform his bones.

The smell of blood lingered in his nose as he bit down hard on the offered wood tablet. A blood sac soon found its place near the operating bed, the needle inserted in his vein. There was no pain, but the feeling of having hands rummage in your shoulder, breaking around…it was skin-shuddering.

Sweat pooled down his brow as a nurse tried to sound soothing. Thanks to chakra, the operation was something done in less than an hour —the medical techniques could regenerate practically anything.

His unresponsive shoulder ended up in a cast afterwards. The bright blue cloth used tightly held the shoulder firm, limiting the movement of his arm and hand.

"Next time you get mauled by a tiger," the medic said then, washing his hands and looking at him. "Come here immediately."

"Ah…" Shinku felt the need to heave.

"Easy, easy…take a moment…just because the operation ended quickly doesn't mean it wasn't taxing."

The nurse offered him a cup of water, which he avidly drank. He wobbled back on his feet afterwards, carefully making his way outside. It was already dusking, and he was probably late. Still, as he made his way towards Ichiraku he…he felt happy.

He was alive.

The thunderstorm became a downpour just moments after he stepped inside the ramen stall. The stall was practically empty. Had they stood him up once more? He shook his head mentally, before sitting down. He'd wait for a bit. They were probably late.

"My, my," Ayame muttered looking outside. "Oh, hello there," she added, looking towards him. "You're in Naru-chan's team, right?"

He nodded. His throat constricted lightly at the thought that he might actually be in there alone.

"Well then, what will—"

The flaps opened a moment later, as both Sasuke and Naruko entered in a hurry.

"Sorry we're late Shin-chan! Uke-chan had to prep himself for his fans!"

"Don't listen to her!" Sasuke retorted hotly, "I had to wait for her to finish bleaching her own brain!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever," Naruko clapped her hands. "Ayame-chan! I'll have five Pork ramen, double pork!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'll have a Vegetable Ramen, double tomatoes."

Ayame's eyes settled on Shinku last.

"Miso ramen," he said. Ayame waited for a moment.

Shinku blinked.

"Ah, nothing double?"

Shinku shook his head slowly.

"Ohi, you all right Shin-chan?" Naruko asked, staring at him.

"Ah…got the shoulder…fixed?" he said slowly, his tongue lolling over the words. "Just came from…the hospital."

"You sure you can move around so soon?" Sasuke hazarded.

"Yeah, it's all right," Shinku nodded. "After the forest…I can handle this."

"Ugh, if there's one thing I don't want to remember at all is the forest," Naruko shuddered. "Kakashi-Nii really went overboard, didn't he?"

"Oh? What happened, Naru-chan?" Ayame asked.

Naruko explained.

By the time she was done, somehow Shinku realized he had become some sort of 'human to be pitied'. Ayame was sniffling as she looked at him. "Poor, poor boy," she sniffled even louder, "This is on the house," she place the miso ramen in front of him. "And really! What was Kakashi even thinking? I wonder what your father's going to do to him."

Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, blanched.

"You did what?"

"I managed to remove the mental blockages over Sasuke and Naruko's powers. I think that, with enough time and the right pushes, they'll both be able to fully utilize the Mangekyou and the Kyuubi's chakra, sensei."

"Return to the point where you made them believe you were torturing and then killing their teammate," Minato deadpanned.

"He was only subjected to a Genjutsu."

"You subjected a teenager to _multiple_ Genjutsu techniques, all inferring his death in some way," Minato stated plainly. "Kakashi…on one side, I understand why you did it," he exhaled, "On the other, as a father I know that if you had done that to Naruko I would have killed you."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "You were pretty harsh on them as a whole to begin with. None of the other Jounin-sensei took their students on a week-long camp in the forest of Death."

"I wanted a month," Kakashi hummed, "But if I did that, they wouldn't have enough missions for the Chuunin exams."

Minato groaned. "You're really keen on getting rid of the team —even with Naruko in it— so soon, right?"

"Sensei, nothing is better than free loading."

Minato hung his head in shame. "Where did I go wrong with you, Kakashi?"

"I think we could start with C-ranks, sensei," Kakashi remarked, "Something close by…in an allied village."

"I have a mission for the Land of the Waves," Minato remarked. "It's an escort mission, supposed to be nothing more than bringing a bridge builder back. He came to Konoha to deliver…"

"Pass," Kakashi said, rolling his eyes.

"There's a mission to capture Tora the cat once more, if you want it," Minato deadpanned.

"No thanks, sensei," Kakashi smiled. "Something better…you know, to wet the blade," he added.

"Already?"

"I say they're ready, sensei."

"_Already_?"

"Just to give them a hint…"

"Fine," Minato exhaled. "Takigakure's been sighting a group of bandits in their proximity recently. I have no idea what their shinobi are doing —or where their Jinchuuriki is— but they are our allies and we're supposed to help them."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "I don't need to tell you, Kakashi, that the lives of your students are all _equally_ important," he exhaled. "As a father, I hope you will keep a special eye out for Naruko. As the Hokage, I demand you shield them all equally from harm."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"You use the honorific only when it suits you," Minato sighed. "Go now…I still have paperwork to defeat for today."

Kakashi flickered away.

Minato hung his head as another pile appeared on his desk. Kage Bunshin were nice and all…but they weren't enough.

**Author's notes**

**I heard your pleas and I will answer them!**

**No Land of Waves as you think…or maybe yes?**


	21. Yesterday's Pain is Today's Rain

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-One

Shinku was flying.

It was nice, flying beyond the skies, towards the deep pitch-black darkness of nothing. Clouds streaked by like tiny white bullets. He laughed as he watched tigers play in the fields, while a giant anaconda devoured whole the world. Fire burned through the forest of men, as thunder soared in the sky.

Then, of course, his eyes opened to a freezing cold breeze coming from his open window.

Outside, the downpour that had struck Konoha the day before continued. The chilly cold wind filled him with Goosebumps, but what truly made his breath stop in fear were a pair of bright cerulean eyes gazing just a few inches away from him.

"It's raining, training is postponed. Head to the Hokage tower, prepare to leave for at least a week."

"What?" Shinku muttered. "Again?"

"It's a mission, Kakashi-Nii didn't want to say anything more," Naruko sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry Shin-chan, I don't like it either."

"Where are we going now?"

"Kakashi-Nii didn't say. Don't worry though: I'm a Kage Bunshin so I'll be able to stick around to help you!" she gave him a thumb up, "But don't try any funny stuff uh! I may be made of shadows, but my real self will remember everything we do, and she'll kick your ass if you cop a feel!"

Shinku blearily gave her a sour look.

"What?" Naruko blinked back.

"Aren't bunshin meant to be illusions?"

"Well, duh. Kage Bunshin aren't," she rolled her eyes. "Don't try to learn it though," she hastily added. "For one, it's forbidden and for seconds it might just kill anyone short of me or a Jounin. I've got Fuzzy-Butt to thank, Jounin have quite a lot of chakra…even Uke-chan would die trying to make even a single copy."

"All right?" he gazed at her once more.

She blinked. "What?"

"I'd like to change."

"You see? That's the same problem with Uke-chan. If I had a sausage, you wouldn't care. I feel left alone and I can't help but think this is very, very mean."

She pouted, before crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning to give him her back. "There, now you can change."

Shinku exhaled as he slowly stood up, gingerly touching his shoulder. It didn't hurt that much anymore —just a light dull throbbing. Still, one week outside once more? Hadn't he returned just the day before?

He hadn't even talked with his parents to begin with —not that he usually did.

Shinku opened up one of his drawers, taking out clean clothes. He'd wear the usual pair of trousers —because it was raining to boot— with a black shirt and his dark beige jacket. A sweater ended up in his backpack —because one never knew the weather— as well as a pair of shorts. This time, he actually stocked on socks and at least a change of underwear.

He didn't want to re-live the nightmare of using _leaves_, so a roll of toilet paper found its way inside his bag —to hell with everyone else.

He grabbed the melted chocolate, now made of mostly brownish tinfoil, and wrapped it in a piece of paper before putting it inside his pocket. Everyone had a lucky charm of sorts anyway, so his would be a piece of melted chocolate.

"Remember to have breakfast," Naruko remarked, following him down in the kitchen. "Might be the last time you can get a cooked meal."

She looked around. "Your parents aren't home?"

"They're off to work early in the morning," Shinku replied as he opened the fridge. "I'll leave them a note."

"You should pass their way to tell them," Naruko said. "Maybe they planned on making a surprise party for your return, and you leaving will put their secret plans in jeopardy!"

Shinku chuckled, but it was a chuckle devoid of mirth. "I don't think they planned anything."

Naruko hummed to herself, shrugging as she looked around like a curious cat. "You have a cookie jar?" her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the so-called jar in a corner. "Can I have one?"

"You eat?" Shinku asked back.

"Well, no. Actually, I feel and taste everything just fine. I even have a stomach, you know…but the point is, by the end of the day…I'm a clone. I'll disperse back in chakra and the real one will get all my memories and feelings," she shrugged. "So I suppose I'll live on in her? And then there's the taste of cookies. With her memories, I know she'd like to have one. I actually want one, but if it's because I like cookies or because she likes them, and thus I like them, I don't know."

"Is that why Kage Bunshin are…prohibited?" Shinku wearily asked back.

"Uh?"

"I mean…you're the copy of a _living being_, so doesn't that make you _living_ all the same?"

The Kage Bunshin smiled awkwardly. "Ah, I suppose that would be true," she chuckled. "But I just don't think too much about it, so Shin-chan can I have a cookie?"

Shinku nodded. "Take two if you want."

The moment he returned from cooking his eggs, the cookie jar was empty and the Kage Bunshin's mouth was full.

She slowly munched on them, eying him with wide eyes and her cheeks full.

"Munch. Munch. Munch."

He ignored her as he quickly ate his breakfast, munching on another strand of bread.

"Your parents haff a bakhery right?" she said with her mouth half-full, before swallowing. "You're lucky, you've got to have fresh bread every day right?"

"Actually, it's stale," Shinku remarked. "Fresh bread goes for sale, stale bread comes home for the next day," he retorted.

Naruko frowned, before closing her eyes and sighing. "Well, I'm out of juice. Going to pop any moment now, so… remember your weapons! If you need some more, try to get to a ninja shop. They're usually open at seven anyway. Even if you come a bit late, I'm sure Kakashi-Nii isn't going to be there as early as seven. He'll probably be there by nine o'clock or a bit later —no way he'll have us go under the rain."

Then she popped away, leaving behind just a few tendrils of smoke that soon dispersed in the air.

He gathered what little he still had to take, before taking out an umbrella and starting his walk towards the Hokage tower. The rain came down heavy and laced with ice, the sleet forming dirty puddles of mud along the road. His left hand gripped tightly on the umbrella even as the wind blew strongly against it, until a loud and deafening crack broke it in half.

He sped up, running forward trying to avoid the rain until…

Until he slipped, and _nearly_ fell.

He didn't because countless times of nearly falling, nearly slipping, nearly ending up down on the ground once more, instinctively told him to do something with his feet.

And he did.

Chakra gripped him tightly to the concrete sidewalk, as he froze in mid-step. He…he had actually managed something _cool_ for once.

The day was turning out to be great!

Smiling, even though he was now soaked to the bones, Shinku ran the last few blocks of the city with a smile on his face.

By the time he reached the Hokage tower, he was utterly drenched. His backpack was safe beneath a rubber layer —they sold them water resistant after all— but he himself would have killed for a towel. He actually had one in his backpack, but he'd have to open it to get it, and it was way beneath everything else.

When he arrived, he frowned.

Sasuke and Naruko both waived at him with Naruko holding up a plastered smile.

"Ohi, Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, "Guess what!"

"What?"

"Guess!"

"I don't know…Tora drowned?"

"Really!?" a nearby chuunin exclaimed, "_THE HELLSPAWN IS DEAD! HALLELUJAH!_" the cheerful Chuunin then dashed out, screaming his joy to the world.

His partner exhaled in disbelief. "You see what you did? Now I have to go and break his dreams again…"

"Sorry Kotatsu!"

"It's Kotetsu," the Chuunin retorted. "Not 'Kotatsu'."

"Oh, it's the same," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Go grab your Seme! Gotetsu!"

"You're just lucky you're the boss' daughter," Kotetsu's lips twitched in a smile, "brat." Then he went.

"Well, anyway Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, "No, it's not that."

"Our mission involves eating and resting?"

"No, I don't think they make missions like those," Naruko muttered, "But if they do, and Kakashi-Nii is ignoring them, he'll hear from me 'ttebayo."

"We'll be doing a C-rank mission," Sasuke said dryly. "Something about having a guide from Takigakure," he added.

"That…will take a week?" Shinku said wearily.

"Nope, at least a week!" Naruko replied, excited for only she knew what reason. "It's a C-rank! We only did one D-rank before! We're like, ultra-awesome!"

"Or maybe you're just the favorite team of the Hokage, moron," a female shrill voice said, just as a platinum-blond girl wearing a purple two piece dress came down from the stairs. Shinku actually thought one thing, before gazing at the rest of Ino's team.

Wasn't the girl feeling _cold_ wearing only that with the weather outside? He was utterly drenched. He really had no idea how every other shinobi he met managed to remain perfectly dry and primed…he was sort-of shuddering, and yet the inside of the Hokage tower was warm.

"Troublesome," another voice —Shikamaru Nara— said next. Chouji just kept on happily munching chips.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino exclaimed them, in a further loud voice. The girl tackled the raven haired Uchiha with strength, only to end up holding to a log, used as a Kawarimi. "Hey! Ah…he's doing the precious and the shy."

"No, he's actually trying to avoid a fake lying bitch;" Naruko shot right back.

"What do you know;" Ino huffed, pushing her blond ponytail behind her back. "You can pass for a plank board if you want to after all. Go and build a bridge or something."

"Ino, come on, we're going to be late," Shikamaru said.

Their sensei just watched the scene unfold, chilling out with a cigarette in his mouth.

He was actually outside, and yet…well, he just had to ask by then.

"Sorry;" Shinku hazarded, as the Jounin's eyes moved to gaze at him. "_How are you staying dry?_"

The Jounin chuckled for a moment, before showing the back of his right hand. "Light emission of chakra around your entire body. Can't see it, but it works as both a drier and a cloak. Helps keep the skin dry mind you, not the clothes. For those you'll need more chakra than a kid your age has…"

"Ah," Shinku nodded. "Thanks."

"You Kakashi's team, right?" the Jounin asked then.

"Yes, we are," Shinku shuddered.

"He's an ex-Anbu, I'm sure he'll train you well. He might forget the easy stuff, so don't worry about asking him."

"Ah, thanks," Shinku then turned to gaze at the point where the two blondes had taken things to the usual 'pull the tail' battle. It had actually happened more than once during the academy for the two to fight like that over…anything, really.

Sasuke stood behind Chouji, using the boy's large mass to hide. The Akimichi himself was apparently ignoring the Uchiha —or maybe they had developed a symbiotic relationship, judging by how Sasuke was slipping potato chip packages straight in the other boy's hands.

Shikamaru exhaled once more. "Ino, we have to go."

"You blond bleached whale!" Ino screamed.

"You skinny underfed skeleton!"

"I have curves, you have balloons!"

"I have _muscles_, you have _elbows_!"

"Ah! That didn't mean anything!" Ino exclaimed, turning to move next to her teammates. "Just you wait! I'll make Sasuke-kun mine and he'll see you for the bitch you are in the end!"

With that, the girl finally walked outside soon followed by the rest of her team.

"Thanks for the help, Uke-chan!" Naruko pouted. "We agreed you had to distract her!"

"I'm sorry, I panicked!" Sasuke exclaimed. "She just…she just tackled me and I used the Kawarimi! What was I supposed to do!?"

"You're too much of an Uke, you know?" Naruko pointed out. "Are we sure you aren't really one? It's not actually funny to make fun of an Uke if he's really an Uke. It would be like making fun of a tortoise because it's a tortoise or a tree because it's a tree…"

"I'm not an Uke," Sasuke growled. "I'm not fine with people touching me, that's all."

"Aw…" Naruko ruffled Sasuke's hair, much to the boy's annoyance. "You're so cute when you act all pouty like a child!"

"I'm going to rip your hands off," Sasuke deadpanned, "And then feed them to your fan boys."

Naruko shuddered. "No, please no."

Shinku dropped his bag on the floor as he sat down on the bench, heaving a heavy sigh as he carefully massaged his right shoulder.

"Shin-chan, you're all right with the shoulder?" Naruko asked.

"Yeah," Shinku nodded back. "I'm fine. Hurts just a bit but it should pass soon."

"Don't overexert yourself," Sasuke said next. There was concern in his voice. "I had an enlightening talk with my father last night…they don't normally put Genin through this hell, so if you need a break…"

"I'm fine," Shinku waved his hand in dismissal, "I'm not going to break from this."

"Oh, right!" Naruko groaned, slamming a hand against her forehead, "I'm stupid, stupid, stupid!" she flexed her hands in the Kage Bunshin sign, creating another clone. "Head home!"

"Yes boss!" the clone said, snapping to attention before flickering away.

"Except stating the obvious," Sasuke deadpanned, "Was there a reason for the theatrics?"

"Shin-chan's without a scroll!" Naruko pouted, "And he's also without a storage seal on his trousers."

"A…what?" Shinku asked, warily.

"Storage scroll," Sasuke quickly flipped one out of his jacket and twirled it around for a moment. "An entire backpack can be safely stored in here, allowing for ease of transport. Like storage seals in the trousers' pockets. Make your enemy think they're empty before summoning a kunai to slice their necks."

"Never heard of…"

"That's normal," Naruko puffed her chest out. "It requires knowledge of Fuinjutsu. In Konoha, there are…like, few Fuinjutsu users and of those the really good ones are all in my family!" her nose grew slightly from her boasting, "There's my uncle Jiraiya, my mother, my father, Kakashi-Nii has a bit of knowledge because his sharingan makes him copy everything, then…then we're done with the really good ones."

They lapsed into silence after that. Shinku stared perplexed, Naruko stood in wait with a crow cawing up in the air —a summon lost on his way to deliver a message, probably— and Sasuke brought his hand to his face in disbelief.

"Just thank her and the 'awesome Namikaze Fuinjutsu skills' if you don't want her to keep waiting like a moron in that pose," Sasuke muttered.

"Ah! Thank…you?" Shinku hazarded.

"Yes," Naruko groaned, lowering her head. "Shin-chan, would a bit of excitement kill you?"

"Excitement?"

"Joy? Cheerfulness? Activity? Saying more than two words?"

"No, don't," Sasuke said then. "I like him as he is," the Uchiha said then gazing at Naruko. "Quiet ones are needed to offset your own 'joy' Dobe."

"Ohi, Teme, the world has enough emos with you. The world needs more awesome! Maybe…you think orange would suit Shin-chan?"

"What am I, a tailor? And no, only you wear orange…for some strange reason."

"Orange is awesome…and I can use Henge to change the color of my clothes, so really…"

Shinku slammed gently the back of his head against the wall, and then closed his eyes. He'd catch a bit of a shut-eye while the other two spoke. He'd never say it straight to their faces…but their voices lulled him to sleep better than any lullaby.

"Shin-chan," a voice called to him.

"Ohi, Shin-chan! Wake up!"

"Uh?" Shinku yawned, before blearily opening his eyes. Naruko smiled, holding out a scroll for him.

"Here you go! Your things are already inside," she smiled.

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome, Shin-chan!" with that, he ended up holding on to a scroll. He zipped open his jacket, putting it inside one of his inner pockets before closing it afterwards.

Now he just knew things would take a sour turn.

Outside the downpour had become a veritable typhoon, and a strange teenager —couldn't be more than sixteen— looked every now and then towards them.

"What time is it?" he asked then.

"Eleven and half," Sasuke grumbled. "I'm actually not angry Kakashi's late, if the downpour ceases…"

In that moment, the Hokage, _the frigging Hokage_, came down from above holding Kakashi by his neck like a child. "You're an Anbu-class operative, Kakashi, act like one!"

"But sensei, it's raining!" Kakashi muttered, "I hate rain!"

"Grow up!" the Yondaime then dropped the Jounin on the floor. The man quickly flickered back into a normal 'work' posture, coughing gently.

"Ahem…"

"Hey dad!" Naruko waved at the Yondaime. "Do we really have to go today!?"

"Of course," the Hokage replied crisply. "Shibuki-san," the older teenager jumped slightly at his name called, "This will be the team you will be guiding to Takigakure."

"I see," the boy said, slowly coming forward. He had ink black eyes and long, dark brown hair. He wore grey pants, a green shirt, and ninja sandals. His forehead protector actually had two long straps that continued way behind his shoulders —so he was a shinobi too.

Hesitantly, he extended his right hand in greeting.

Naruko blinked.

She looked from Shibuki to Shinku, and then back once more.

"What?" Sasuke said, looking at Naruko.

"Nothing, nothing," Naruko replied with a thoughtful expression.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Well, let us get going then…under the rain, the cold, harsh, unfeeling rain that will probably make my mood sour…"

"Go now, kid," Minato exhaled.

"You're evil, sensei," Kakashi grumbled as he began to head out, soon followed by everyone else.

"Haruno-san?" Shinku stilled, turning to gaze at the Hokage who had actually called his surname.

"_Fight on_," with that said, Minato Namikaze turned and climbed back up the stairs of the Hokage tower.

Shinku frowned, and then began to run to keep up with the rest of his team —and their guide.

The mission was a C-rank…it meant there was a _slight chance_ of encountering bandits…it didn't mean there _had to be_ bandits, right? And really, they were just…following a guide. For some reason.

What reason was there to be _guided_ somewhere else, actually?

**Author's notes**

**I just read, once more, the 'Protect the Waterfall Village' mission on the Wiki.**

**Fun fact: Takigakure is supposedly proud of 'never been conquered'. Guess what a team of missing-Nin does? Yep, captures it. For the Hero Water.**

**Guess Fuu was probably lethargic elsewhere…**

**But, oh well, there's Shade here to fill the plot holes with something.**

**Even if that means pain, suffering and blood. This was a nice banter-and-love-and-cookies chapter. **

**And I actually realized it just now but…wow, the number of Guest Reviewers I have on this story is staggering. Thank you all for taking the time to reading and commenting!**


	22. Ordinary Troubles

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Two

Marching out of Konoha in the rain was not pleasant. Chakra or not to cover the skin, the wind still blew cold and icy. The Takigakure Chuunin showed the way, completely unperturbed by the weather. The hurricane not only didn't appear to stop, but continued all throughout the next two days —resulting in the most miserable mood the team as a whole ever had.

Still, two days filled with realizing just how his sensei acted appeared more than enough.

Kakashi could have practically not been there. Not that in the downpour Shinku would have really enjoyed training, but even when putting up camp beneath the largest trees, the man had simply gone off to read his orange covered book. He hadn't told them what their mission was —much to Naruko's annoyance— and had simply smiled and waved his hand in dismissal.

"You'll know when we get there," had been his answer when pressed, before burrowing his face back in the orange-covered book.

The book was Icha-Icha, as Naruko had told him once by giving him a copy.

He had most graciously returned it…

After a few minutes.

Shibuki didn't speak too. The man simply guided them when Kakashi broke camp, but for the rest remained quiet. His face sour, it was as if he actually didn't want to bring them in the village.

In the end, the trees simply grew too dense for water to pass by beneath their branches, and when the drowning noise of rain left the place to the rumbling of waterfalls, Shibuki spoke for the first time in days.

"We're here," he said crisply. "Follow me closely."

A rocky path rose from the ground a few feet away from a waterfall, proceeding right behind it and losing itself in the darkness.

"Hold one of your hands on the back of your teammate," Kakashi instructed.

Shinku nodded, before finding his back gripped by Sasuke.

"You grab on to the Dobe," Sasuke exhaled. "I've had enough."

"Uh?"

"Aw…" Naruko whined, "Copping a fe—"

"Quiet!" Kakashi hissed, silencing Naruko with a wince. "We're on a mission, not taking tea in the forest of Death."

Chastised, Naruko grabbed the back of Kakashi, while Shinku gripped on her orange jumpsuit.

They began to walk inside the dark cave.

"Takigakure is divided in inner Taki and outer Taki," Shibuki's voice came through distorted from the echo. "Inner Taki cannot be accessed. It is the location of the Hero water. Outer Taki is instead free for every visitor —who has a Takigakure shinobi to bring them in."

Kakashi hummed his agreement.

The cave's walls slowly began to gain definition as light poured in from the exit. Then, finally, they left the cave complex. Water rushed in a large circle all around a giant central tree surrounded by a thick wall made of the tree's very own root. Way before that however, were the first houses…and a vast collection of trash.

"Your mission, my cute little Genin," Kakashi said with a bright eye-smile, "Is to clean the trash."

Shinku exhaled a giant breath of relief, which Naruko's scream drowned. "WHAT!? Trash!? Trash collecting!? A C-rank about collecting trash!?"

"You have seen the amounts, Dobe?" Sasuke muttered, looking around. "We'll need all the clones you can make to…just how is it possible?"

"Normally the water flows freely downstream through the cave complex we just passed," Shibuki said, "Something clogged it recently, so while many of our shinobi are busy looking for the blockage…this accumulates," the man gestured. "You are forbidden from entering Inner-Taki, but a house has been assigned to your team for your needs."

Shibuki guided them all the way through a small cobblestone road that overlooked the pools of water that surrounded the giant tree at the centre of Taki, towards a wooden two-story house. An elderly lady with a kind and tired smile waved at them, holding a broom in her hands.

"Shibuki-sama," the old granny said, "These must be our honoured guests, right?"

"This here is Mai-baasan," Shibuki said, extending his right hand to present the old lady. She looked just like a trademark grandmother, with her grey hair collected in a bun behind her head and winkles all over her face. She even wore one of those old dark green kimono that were the fad decades before —Shinku knew that because he too had seen the very same cloth on his own grandmother…when she was still alive, of course.

"Very well then," Kakashi eye-smiled, "Drop your bags inside your rooms while I finish talking with Shibuki-san over our work here."

Naruko pouted, muttering.

"Trash collecting. A C-rank about trash collecting and he had to act like it was some sort of mysterious secret mission," she grumbled loudly as she entered the house, following the housekeeper who slowly made her way up.

Sasuke was just a bit behind her, watching Naruko's grumbling warily.

"She's going to prank Kakashi," Sasuke exhaled.

Shinku, who was last in line, shrugged. "Doesn't he deserve it anyway?"

"Naruko's pranks don't have a constraint," Sasuke retorted. "Once, she turned the hair of all the Yamanaka clan members white with green dots, before covering their entire compound in itching powder. _The. Entire. Compound_." Sasuke exhaled. "We stationed twenty-three Uchiha policemen after that accident. She answered by painting the walls of the compound magenta…do you understand me? All the walls of all the houses were a bright pain-in-the-eye magenta…we knew it was her, but we had no proof."

"Never get on her bad side then?" Shinku hazarded.

"Pretty much," Sasuke nodded.

"Hey you two! I can hear you!" Naruko pouted, "And I don't know what you're talking about. I dislike pranks. I don't do pranks. I'm a proper lady!"

"Yes, Dobe, you are," Sasuke nodded sarcastically. "Just like Shinku here has a powerful blood technique."

Naruko stared at Shinku then. "You do?"

"No," Shinku deadpanned. "I don't."

"Aw, it would be cool!" Naruko pouted. "I've got fuzzy-butt and Sasuke's got the Meringuan."

"Sharingan," Sasuke growled, "And while I dislike using it…calling it a 'meringue' seems excessive."

The rooms showed to them were spacious enough for two people to sleep comfortably in…which actually meant that the men would sleep in one and the girl would have the other room all for herself.

Naruko cheerfully giggled. "Well, sometimes being without a sausage has its perks I suppose…muh, at the same time we won't be able to talk until late at night about how big they are…"

She stared at the thin walls, "Maybe…"

"Idiotic blonde," Sasuke snarled, "You even so much as try to peek…" he clenched his right hand in a fist, "And I will test the limits of your regeneration."

Dropping their stuff, they returned down once more to find only Kakashi standing there with his eye smiling as always.

"Well then my little Genin!" he gestured to the ample pools, "Go forth and clean! Notice how the garbage stays in the water rather than on the shores? That's because there are underwater currents…which send, just so you know, the garbage into the cave complex we came from. Don't distract yourself even for a second, or you'll end up sucked in!"

Shinku watched the lake. He stared at his clothes. He hadn't considered swimming being a part of it.

"Oh, right;" Kakashi said. "Who knows how to walk on water?"

Sasuke and Naruko lifted their hands.

Shinku blankly watched the Jounin-sensei clap his hands happily. "Very well! Then, while you two collect the garbage from here, I'll take Shinku-kun to learn how to walk on water over there," that said, he pointed towards a pool that had relatively clean water. "Collect the garbage on the shore in piles and the villagers will give you a hand disposing of them;" Kakashi added as an afterthought.

The next moment, Kakashi gripped Shinku by the scruff of the neck and flickered towards the shore on the other side of an old wooden bridge —the one that passed between the various pools.

"Tell me, Shinku-kun," Kakashi said with a bright smile as he held him by the neck, effortlessly keeping him up in mid-air above the water. "Do you dislike getting wet?"

Shinku flailed. "Ah! Yes!"

"Pity," with that, Kakashi dropped him in the water below. Shinku gave out a startled scream, before plunging in the icy-cold water.

"We're lucky we're beneath Taki's giant tree," Kakashi hummed from his spot above as Shinku spluttered and flailed his arms to remain afloat, even with his clothes wet. "So we aren't getting the rain from outside," his eyes shone with murder. "I hate the rain, and, well…I'm going to make sure you understand how much sour my mood turns when I have to walk under the rain."

"Gah! What the hell is your problem!?" Shinku spluttered.

"Mah, you were the one who said you wouldn't move, weren't you?" Kakashi retorted. "Then, even if I train you to the point of breaking, even if I train you to the point where your bones shatter and your muscles rip…you aren't going to complain are you?"

Kakashi jumped down next, but his feet landed on the water with relative ease as if the liquid was as solid as the ground. "This is called water walking," Kakashi hummed. "It's all about using chakra to remain afloat. You create a light sheen of chakra, like the one you use to remain dry under the cold, unforgiving, chilly rain, and…" Shinku flapped around once more, before gripping on to the wood pole of the wooden bridge and using that moment to catch his breath.

"And that's about it," Kakashi replied. "Don't get too tired or the currents might lead you… who knows where…if you end up beneath the water you'll probably just drown, so hold on to something."

"You're not…staying?" there actually was hope in Shinku's voice.

Kakashi chuckled. "No, I have better things to do than watch you nearly drown for a hundred times," with a shrug, Kakashi leisurely walked up the wooden pole. "Doesn't mean you can slack off, Shinku-kun. I'll know if you do."

With that, he disappeared from sight.

Shinku took a deep breath.

"There he goes," he muttered. "Nice, helpful sensei."

"What did you expect? He doesn't have time for the dead-last," he grumbled as he carefully pushed his feet against the wet pole, climbing it up. The concept didn't seem so different from the tree-walking. If anything, it seemed _simple_.

That idea lasted until, holding one foot on the wooden pole he tried to place another in the water. The result was that he doubled forward, slamming face first in the icy pool once more. He sputtered for air and coughed, water leaving his nose as tears ran down his eyes. He rubbed them furiously, thankful that at least the pool was relatively clean.

Two more tries yielded the same result.

In the end, he swam towards the shore, puffing and panting along the way. His right arm was sore, and staying out of the water chilled him, but it could have been worse.

"You realize you're mentally retarded when you enjoy repeating the same action again and again," Shinku mumbled.

"You want to swap this with being a tiger's chewtoy?"

"Are you actually retarded or something?" Shinku snapped. "That was that and this is this…would it kill him to give a hint? Use chakra. What the hell is that supposed to mean? I can be a teacher too. Just give me a porn book and an 'eye-twinkle' and I'll be the perfect teacher."

He hesitantly took a step forth, the foot passing through the water without even feeling resistance. "If I do it with the 'stay dry under the rain' method, the water just parts ways," Shinku grumbled.

"The tree-climbing method instead makes us plummet faster," his other-self murmured.

Wait.

"Us?" Shinku blinked blearily. "There's no 'us' in here, thank you very much."

There was a heartbeat of silence.

"Good, for a moment I worried I was actually losing it," Shinku chuckled. Really, it had just been a slip of the mind.

"Once more, Shinku Haruno challenges his enemy," Shinku muttered as he took a step backwards. "This time, we'll try with the 'friction less jump for tree-walking' rather than 'tree-climbing'."

He exhaled. "I did not say 'we'. It's I. I'll try," he stressed on.

"Really, why am I getting worked up on this?" then, Shinku placed his right foot forth and jumped.

The water parted ways as he literally soared across the water, the effect of removing friction from his feet on the water surface made him gain momentum as he went, parting the pool slightly as he suddenly halted.

The moment he did, the feet 'hooked' the water.

He slammed face first on the surface with enough strength to break his nose, leaving behind just a light figure of him impressed on the pool's water before sinking in deeper.

Shinku emerged a few seconds later, retching out water and coughing as his nose bled. Wobbling back to shore, he gingerly touched the broken extremity.

A _giggle_ interrupted his moans from continuing.

Shinku frowned, looking around for a moment more before shaking his head. There was no one around. The pain he felt around his nose was probably making him hallucinate. He knew what the academy said on broken noses. 'Put them back in place properly or don't try at all'.

Well, maybe it wasn't broken. It was just slightly flat because of the momentum gained, but there was nothing else to it. Yes, it wasn't badly broken. Maybe it was just a bit sore and…his left hand gripped the nose as he took a deep breath.

"Let's do this."

There was a snap.

Shinku howled in pain as he clutched his nose —now properly back in place. He exhaled loudly, panting and breathing in deeply through his mouth as he gazed upwards, to the giant tree-branches of the Taki tree.

"Why did I have to do it?" he cursed under his breath. "Why did I have to? Why. Why. Why?"

"You're funny!" Shinku stopped moving abruptly. He looked around once more. There was no one.

Carefully, he stood up to a seated position.

"I'm going to let you use my pool then, but if you dirty it then I'm going to have my bugs eat you, understood?" Shinku blinked once more, looking around.

"Fantastic," Shinku mumbled. "I'm hallucinating."

"Hey! I'm up here, you know!" it was then that Shinku bleakly brought his head upwards. Staring down at him, with light green hair, tanned skin and golden eyes was a girl gently flying on bright insect-like wings.

She pouted, before landing down. "I'm not a hallucination," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "The name's Fu, and this is my pool you're using!"

"S-sorry?" Shinku hazarded. "I…"

"It's all right!" Fu exclaimed, flickering her wings behind her back a bit more, and gazing at him with intent. It actually reminded him of Naruko's own attempt at getting praise with the scroll…

"Ehm…thanks?"

The girl stared at him even stronger than before. Her wings buzzed just a bit louder.

"Nice wings?"

Fu cocked her head to the side, before smiling. "Thanks! You're one of the few who says that!" then she took a light jump back and ended up gently landing on the water as her wings disappeared. "So, you're a shinobi from Konoha right?"

She tapped at her own forehead, where the symbol of Takigakure stood on her own forehead protector. "I'm Fu, from Taki."

"I'm…Shinku, from…Konoha."

"Did your sensei leave you here to train alone?" Fu asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Y-yes," he nodded, before slowly standing up and staring down at his sand-filled wet clothes. He'd end up falling in the water again anyway, so there really wasn't the need to try to dust them off. "I'm supposed to water walk…"

"You're here alone?" Fu asked, jumping a bit on the water's surface.

"Ah, no. The rest of the team is on the other side…they already know how to do this so they began working," Shinku mumbled, staring at the water surface once more.

"Want a hand?" Fu asked, making a _pirouette_ on the water.

"I…Yes? Thanks?"

Fu giggled once more. "Well, first things first! Water walking is just like tree walking…but the surface isn't solid! Instead of…uhm…" she frowned, "Well, when you tree walk, you use…the amount of chakra that equals your weight, right? And you apply it to the solid surface. When you do the same with water however, you mustn't do it vertically, but horizontally…you must spread the chakra through the surface, not 'grab' at the below."

Shinku frowned.

"Ehm!" Fu coughed embarrassedly, "Too complicated? Well…think of splashing the water!" she brought her leg up. "Walking on a tree is kicking the tree," she slammed the foot down with strength, making the water jump out to her knee. "Walking on water is more like…splashing a really big surface."

She tapped the water, and the ripples appeared further away from her foot than before. "See? That's how far you have to thinly spread chakra…it's like having giant wooden rings below your feet to paddle through…only instead of wood it's chakra…or like having…well, you know those flowers that float? Right!" she stammered, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why don't you try again? It's easier if you just jump in at first. The more water there is the easiest it gets."

"Well…" Shinku swallowed, "Not like there's anything else I can do about it."

He took a few steps backwards, before jumping ahead. The moment he felt his feet touch the water, he let chakra pour out and…and the result was unmistakeable.

He actually managed a forward flip in the water, before landing in the pool with his back and gasping for air —sinking below the water with his chest a moment later.

"GAH!"

"There! You did it, did you see? Just…try not to jump again afterwards." He saw her start to fly once more with the corner of his eyes, her chakra wings speeding up as she stopped just in front of him, offering her hand to get him back up.

"Need a hand?" she giggled.

Kakashi hummed to himself from his spot on the roof of a nearby house. He flipped a page of his Icha-Icha, and then gazed back to his two prodigies. They were doing fine —ranting about trash and whatnot. He turned his gaze to Shinku and smiled.

He had asked Shibuki which pool the Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi usually used. After all, the mission also served another purpose.

If Takigakure didn't even use their Jinchuuriki to fight off bandits…then why couldn't they loan it to Konoha as extra protection for the duration of the Konoha exams?

Shibuki had actually been glad of the proposal to get rid of the Jinchuuriki…provided they resolved the bandit problem.

As it was, Kakashi hummed because he was happy.

The day he would have to teach something to his students approached…but it was not yet that day and so…he could read in peace.

**Author's notes**

**Such nice, relaxing atmosphere…such happy times…can you feel it? The Gut-Punch coming?**

**Fu, by wiki, despises humanity (As Deidara said) but was shown to be cheerful and carefree in the 'meeting' with Naruto. So I've got the grounds for a more complicated personality than normal.**

**We will see how it goes…**

**Ps: her age isn't specified anywhere. Considering how 'anime' characters are drawn and all…tough call. I'll probably make her the same age as the others, but if anyone has an inkling over her 'real' age please do tell.**


	23. Mounting Dread Beneath The Water

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Three

He couldn't walk on water by the end of the day —well, he could _stand_ on water, but taking more than two steps forward brought him down with a splash of fury.

Still, it was better than the absolute _nothing_ from the beginning. He even made a _friend_ at that too. Sure, the Takigakure kunoichi was a bit strange, but…

"Well, I don't know if we'll be here tomorrow too," he said, exhaling a breath. "They did give us a house for the night though… so in any case, thanks for teaching me," he added seriously, making a light bow of his head. "I probably wasted your entire afternoon…"

Fu just chuckled, before shaking her head. "Nah, it was fun!" she hummed thoughtfully, "I know! How about to repay my kindness, you offer me dinner?"

"It's already that late?" Shinku blinked, before looking at the sky. "How can you see the time passing with those branches?"

"Internal stomach clock," Fu giggled, before patting the long red tube she carried besides her. "And these little guys get hungry and start buzzing," she frowned. "You're not scared of bugs, right?"

Shinku made a hesitant smile. "They aren't going to eat me, right?"

"Oh, no! They're harmless unless I tell them to."

Exhaling in relief, Shinku shrugged. "In Konoha we have the Aburame clan. They have insects _inside_ of them, and sometimes if you stare hard enough you can see them crawl out of their ears or sleeves," he looked at her, "It's not really troubling after you get the hang of it."

"Oh," Fu looked sideways, "And if I told you I have a really large bug inside of me?"

"Doesn't that make you like an Aburame then?"

Fu giggled. "Right! Then I'm a Taki Aburame I suppose," she looked around. "Hey, want to try flying?"

"Eh? EH!" the second 'eh' came of surprise because he didn't even get to say yes or no. Fu simply tackled him, grabbing his body by the midriff, before bringing him up in the air. He flailed for a moment.

"Hey! How…How high are we going actually?" Shinku swallowed his nervousness. He knew nothing about _flying_.

"Relax, I've got you!"

Then her hands slipped for a moment. "Ops! Sorry!" she laughed.

He paled. Really, did he have no luck?

Sasuke watched with a dark look the offending object.

It was a string of something. It looked like a thong, but it seemed made of hair.

It was…something.

Something indescribable, that no human should ever see for as long as they lived. Naruko's clones had done most of the job while the villagers had helped too by carrying the waste out of the shore and towards _somewhere_ where such horrors would never see the light of the world again.

"Uke-chan!" Naruko —one of her anyway— screamed. "Emergency! Alert priority Nine! Code Black-Mamba-Uke!"

Sasuke's glare would have frozen even hell itself as he turned, "What? What's going on? I swear if it's another torn swimsuit and…"

Naruko grabbed his head and then nearly twisted it out of his spine as she pointed it upwards, to the sky. He blinked for a moment, and then closed his eyes. "No. I am not seeing that."

"B-But!"

"Wasn't he training with Kakashi? Where the hell is our sensei to begin with?" Sasuke looked around.

"Kakashi-Nii! Right! Maybe he knows what's going on:.." all the Naruko clones screamed as one. "_KAKASHI-NII!_"

"Is everything all right?" a Takigakure shinobi remarked, appearing nearby.

"Our teammate is being carried away, that's not all right!" Naruko actually grabbed the shinobi in question, before pointing straight to the problem at hand. "There! You see!? Is that a predator bird or something!? Do we have to call the Taki animal control!? Get. My. Teammate. Down!"

"Excuse her," Sasuke grumbled, gripping Naruko by the neck. "She gets overly emotional when stressed out," he then blearily watched as Naruko gripped her hands together. "What are you trying to do, Dobe?"

"If I form a Naruko-chain of Kage Bunshin…"

"That's the Jinchuuriki," the Takigakure shinobi said with venom in his voice. "Nothing to worry about," the man shrugged. "She likes to talk with visitors that aren't from Takigakure."

"Taki has a Jinchuuriki?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, we have a beast," the man spat to the side. "She's just a cost on the village though. Can't send her outside on missions, can't keep her in the village because of the insects…she's just a bunch of problems tied together."

"What do you mean?" Naruko asked with her eyes half-closed.

"She's a veritable smug bitch, that's what it is about," the shinobi snorted. "She killed her Jounin instructor and her team during a mission, and from that day nobody went near her at all." The man shuddered. "Their bodies… they were found eaten whole and covered in larvae, larvae of flesh eating bugs."

The man mulled it over. "Maybe you should do something for your teammate actually. Just because she hasn't yet attacked a visitor doesn't mean she might not start."

"Knowing Shin-chan's luck…" Naruko bleakly muttered, before giving a pleading look to Sasuke who groaned.

"Fine, Dobe. But I'm not—"

"I knew I could count on you Uke-chan! Let's go rescue your Seme!" Naruko gripped tightly on Sasuke's wrist then, before flickering away. Soon, both of them were running over the rooftops of the outer-village.

"She's flying, Dobe. How do you plan on taking her down?"

"She's going to land eventually!" Naruko shot back, "and when she does, you take Shin-chan while I hold her off!"

"I don't think she's actually harming him, you know," Sasuke retorted.

"What!? Look! He's flailing for help!"

"I think he's actually trying to imitate a bird, and he's laughing, Dobe."

"Shin-chan? Laughing? She's got him under an illusion! Shin-chan doesn't laugh! He chuckles, at most, and only when really pushed!"

"I have a Sharingan, thank you very much," Sasuke snorted.

"Your Meridian is nice and all—"

"You're doing this on purpose! _I know_ you're doing this on purpose!"

Another jump and Naruko gleefully brought her right arm forward, pointing. "There! They're coming down!"

"Dobe, wait!"

Naruko charged ahead. Sasuke would have liked to claim he was faster than Naruko, he really would have wanted to claim it as the truth but…but the problem was that Naruko was the daughter of the Yondaime, the man known for his speed and high reflexes.

When Naruko wanted to run, even Chuunin had trouble keeping up with her…heck, sometimes even _Jounin_ had that problem.

Shinku descended feet first on the ground, the square of the outer-village covered in a light green from the grass that grew from the fertile soil and with a few flowers blooming here and there.

"That took five years off my life," Shinku _exclaimed_. It was probably that that stilled Naruko. She froze, carefully hiding on the rooftop near the square. Sasuke reached her a moment later, but she just gripped him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him down in silence.

"It was fun, right?" Fu replied.

"Ah…I admit it was," Shinku _chuckled_. "So, what would you like to eat, Fu-san?"

"Is it me, or he is surprisingly bold?" Sasuke muttered, looking from Shinku to Fu and then to Naruko, who was biting her lips with cold eyes.

"Why did I even bother?" Naruko muttered with her eyes cold. "I knew he had a mask on. Why did I even listen to you?"

"Come off it, Dobe. You can't be sure of it," Sasuke retorted. "Maybe you're simply not his type. Shouldn't you be happy he isn't a fan boy of yours?"

"He's talking to a perfect stranger," Naruko retorted hotly. "He's talking, chuckling and _laughing_ with a perfect stranger, while he barely gets a word in with us."

"Maybe he's still overwhelmed," Sasuke muttered. "He does talk with us."

"Not to that level, not with that laughter. He's offering her dinner," Naruko mumbled. "He has yet to offer us dinner."

"You always yell about getting Ramen," Sasuke replied, "And it's been how long since we got to know each other? One week? Two?"

"It took him one day to befriend that girl," Naruko hissed. "He's even paying her dinner!"

"You're the daughter of the Yondaime and I'm the son of the police chief. His parents are bakers," Sasuke retorted. "And you nearly empty my year savings every time you rope me in offering you dinner at Ichiraku. Do I really need to go on?"

"Argh, why am I discussing this with you, Uke-chan? You're not a girl, no matter how much you try. You can't understand. This is personal. As a female friend, I have to ensure no evil women will ever lurk near my male friends! I hold off Ino for you, don't I?"

"How does that tie in with you sharpening a kunai?"

"Well, I told you the shy and meek was just a mask, right? You didn't believe me and there's the proof. Now, if Shin-chan's under a Genjutsu then I'll just rip that girl's heart out and beat her body to the ground…"

Sasuke stared blankly at Naruko's face —it displayed a slight smile, one of those 'I'm going to burn the world and cook a sausage with the cinders' smiles.

"On the other hand, if he's been lying to us, if he's been acting up to this moment like a kicked puppy only to _worm_ his way inside our lives and gather our trusts…I will make his life a living hell."

"And what if he's simply being pushed into this?" Sasuke asked. "You know, like we _always_ do with him, since he _always_ does what we tell him to do?"

"Uh," Naruko blinked, "Good point," she replied. "I'm going to grab me some dinner, and you'll be coming with me then. We have to save Shin-chan." Sasuke emitted a strangled groan, as he was grabbed by Naruko once more before she flickered down.

"Ohi, Shin-chan!"

Shinku turned, before his eyes widened briefly. "Ah, hey," he said with a nod of his head.

"Where the hell were you!?" Naruko exclaimed, huffing. "We looked everywhere! I thought you had _drowned_."

"Well…Kakashi-sensei just left me there," he muttered back, shaking his head slowly. "Since he didn't come back and Fu-san—"

"Fu-san?" Naruko's ears twitched. "Who's Fu-san?"

"Oh," Shinku waved towards Fu, who neared just as the food order from the stand ended up on the counter. "She helped me with the water walking part," he grabbed both carton packages —apparently Takigakure's speciality concerned of roasted birds of various kinds that nested on the higher branches.

"And you're offering her dinner because of that, uh," Naruko replied thoughtfully. "You're not a lady-killer Shin-chan, right?"

"N—"

"Hi!" Fu chirped as she grabbed her own package, "Are you Shinku-kun's teammates?"

Naruko gave one long look at Fu's chipper attitude, before nodding. "Yes, we are," she smiled. "Shouldn't you have warned us you were going for dinner Shin-_**chan**_? We could have all gone together then."

"Shinku-_**kun **_was busy flying, he said it was awesome," Fu giggled.

Sasuke took a step backwards, grabbing Shinku by the arm and pulling him back.

"What's going on?" Shinku mouthed.

"You remember Ino? This is the beginning," the dread in Sasuke's voice was apparent.

The wind picked up a gentle breeze, as a thunder soared up above in the sky as the two girls sized up one another.

"Still, you probably _forced_ _him_ along didn't you? That's not nice at all for Shin-_**chan**_. He's easily pushed into these situations, you know?"

"Shinku-_**kun**_ did nothing he didn't want to do and he's my friend!"

"Shin-_**chan's**_ my friend too and friends don't let friends do something they don't want to do, but do all the same to be nice."

Shinku gazed at Sasuke, who groaned.

"There's a lot of _baggage_ behind those words," the Uchiha muttered. "You would not believe the amount of times she meddled with everyone else she considers a friend. Ayame's still single because she has to make sure the boyfriend is 'up to her standards'."

"Nagging grandmother style?"

"More like nagging mother," Sasuke muttered.

"Well, Shinku-_**kun**_ is my _**first**_ friend!" Fu crossed her arms over her chest, huffing. "You can have another one."

"You don't change friends!" Naruko exclaimed. "Friends are for life!"

"How about we eat dinner before it gets cold?" Sasuke suggested, "Well, me and the Dobe will order our own…we can talk with our bellies full, right?"

With expertise, Sasuke gripped on the back of Naruko's neck and then pulled her away from the confrontation.

Fu huffed. "She's rude!"

Shinku's lips twitched in a nervous smile. "She…I'm sorry," he acquiesced.

"Don't be," Fu grumbled. "That was really rude," the girl shook her head. "Let's go somewhere else."

"But they jus—gah!"

Naruko's head went out of the stall in less than a second, but by then two carton boxes remained —open and with their contents spilled on the ground— on the square.

Her gaze then went upwards, where the Takigakure Jinchuuriki was forcefully carrying a flailing Shinku away. Naruko narrowed her eyes. "Oh no, you don't."

"Dobe, remember not to—"

Sasuke did not manage to finish his warning, as two Naruko clones appeared right next to the original to throw her up in the air. The moment she was airborne, the second Naruko clone jumped too, before gripping on the original's legs and spinning in mid-air to throw the real one at the flying Jinchuuriki.

"_**OHI! LET. SHIN-CHAN. GO!**_"

Fu just buzzed her wings and moved to the left, avoiding the attack. Naruko created another Kage Bunshin, which gripped the original once more to change her trajectory.

"I said to let him go, bitch! Can't you see he doesn't want that!?"

"Stop it! It's hard to have a friend my age to talk to! Can't you just leave us alone!?" Fu yelled back, before moving her hands to summon forth her insects from within her red container.

"NO! I'm not leaving Shin-chan in the hands of a bug-loving freak that killed her team!"

Fu flinched at that insult, before her eyes narrowed to slits. "You know nothing! I…You're a bad person!"

Naruko once more conjured a Kage Bunshin to 'throw herself' back in the air.

"Tell that straight to my face on the ground, bug-freak!"

Fu clenched both her hands into fists, before snarling as her entire body covered in a light green cloak of chakra. "I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi! You scared now!?"

"I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi! Nine beats seven!" Naruko growled back.

Sasuke, meanwhile, stared.

He watched the moment in which Fu let go of Shinku in the heat of conjuring her flesh-eating bugs.

He screamed trying to get the attention of the two imbeciles, who unfortunately were busy screaming accusations to one another.

The next thing Sasuke did was to run forward. It was in that moment that he actually pleaded for Kakashi to appear. He really needed the Jounin's speed —because his wasn't going to make it.

Kakashi was on the way back to Konoha, having received an urgent dispatch for all the Jounin. He didn't know what it was about, but since the eagle had come to warn him too it had to be important. Technically, he was leaving the kids alone for just a day…a day and a half…maybe two days.

Everything was fine anyway; he had left his messages to the kind old housekeeper.

Shinku closed his eyes as he fell, and gripped tightly on the melted piece of chocolate within his jacket. "Is…is this…"

Then he slammed against the surface of the water pool, his breathing coming less as blackness clouded his sight. He plummeted below the surface of the water, the current sucking him down with unyielding strength.

So…that was how he died.

Drowned.

His back slammed against something hard, before a strong pressure pulled him against another rock, and then one more. He couldn't see, his brain was screaming for relief from the agony and his heart was beating straight into his ears.

There was no escape, no safety, no leaving…

_Then_ he sped up.

His body slammed against a cold surface, a crack resounding clearly in his head as air suddenly rushed to meet his face. He gagged and breathed in deeply, gripping with his hands against the surface of whatever he had broken.

He punched, flailed and kicked, the pressure of the water behind him pinning him to the strange wall of earth and…

Then it gave way, and he ended up plopping on the other side of it and coughing, sputtering salt water and retching on the floor. He cried and sniffled, gripping at his shaking legs as the deep pitch-black darkness that surrounded him was still better than death.

Unless he _was_ dead.

He dropped with his back against the floor, his heart drumming slower and slower as he calmed down enough to take in the situation for the first time.

He was alive.

That was good.

He was somewhere in the dark.

That wasn't good.

There was air.

That was good.

He didn't know where he was.

That wasn't good.

"We're screwed, we're screwed," he sang. Well, no. He didn't. .Someone in the dark sang it.

"No, we aren't;" he muttered back.

"We're screwed, Shinku. Admit it. We're in a dark nowhere surrounded by nothingness. We're screwed and we're talking to ourselves because we're too scared to admit we're going to die here. _We are going to die in here_. _**We are going to die in here**_!"

"Didn't they send their shinobi down the tunnels to check for blockages?" Shinku retorted. "They should be here, right?"

"Why don't you look around?" he brought up his right hand, before slamming it down near him. "Someone's bound to…"

His fingers touched fabric.

Shinku frowned, and then pulled at it. It was…well, there was something heavier beneath it.

"If only I had a light…"

"You have a matchbook in your backpack."

"I left the backpack in the scroll."

"And the scroll is in your jacket, right?"

"Right," Shinku exhaled. "Right…good, smart idea."

"I live to please…and survive. I'd really like to survive. Can we please, pretty please survive?"

Shinku fumbled with the zipper of his jacket, before unrolling the scroll.

"What if it doesn't work when wet?"

"You unrolled it, Shinku. It either works or doesn't. If it explodes, at least we don't die from hunger."

"What if we survive the explosion?"

"Damn it Shinku, are we really that damn unlucky!? Get rid of that piece of chocolate you imbecile! It only brings misfortune!"

"I'm keeping that until I'm dying," he retorted. "I suppose…chakra?"

"I'd try blood and summoning forth something. You know, maybe if you fumble with the hand-seals long enough someone is bound to take pity on you."

"No need for sarcasm!" Shinku growled, before pouring chakra out of his hands and into the parchment.

There was a puff of smoke, soon followed by his backpack's weight and form appearing in front of him —not that he could see it, but he did feel it.

Exhaling, breathing in deeply once more, exhaling once again, Shinku moved his hands through the backpack. The matchbook was next to the canteen, inside a waterproof smaller bag because…

Calmly, he gripped on one of the matches and then used his index finger to hold the case still.

The match lit up with a flash, giving off a faint light that palely illuminated the cloth —blue fabric— and the rest of the body —a flak jacket, a Takigakure forehead protector, a…a _corpse_.

Shinku's blood froze in his veins as the match he held with his fingers fell, ending up on the scroll that soon began to burn brightly.

In the growing light, a corpse became two.

Two corpses became four. Shinku gripped on the handle of the scroll and lifted it, using it as a makeshift torch to illuminate the cave he had ended up in.

There weren't just four corpses.

There were piles of them…

_And they weren't even rotting to begin with._

**Author's notes**

**Ever played Amnesia, the Dark Descent?**

**The fear of the dark…**

**The piles of bodies…**

**And frankly, 'Team Suien' is formed of Suien (Jounin) and three 'Guys' (Missing-Nin from Amegakure) plus nine 'grunts' (Chuunin rank).**

**That's like…thirteen shinobi against a Hidden Village…they had to play dirty **_**somewhere**_**.**


	24. In Dark Caves Blooms Crimson Madness

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Four

Shinku hurled, gritting his teeth as he dropped the flaming scroll. The parchment rolled down the humid ground, slowly dying off to embers.

This wasn't good.

This wasn't good at all. He was in the pitch-black darkness surrounded by mountains of corpses and bodies. A few of them were still bleeding. A few of them were…they were fresh.

"There's an exit," he muttered. "Or a way for them to dump the bodies in," he hissed. He got down on all fours. "Shinku? You have to work with me, Shinku."

"There are bodies in here!" he screeched, before putting a hand to his mouth.

"Shut up," he hissed. "They'll hear us."

"Who?"

"The enemy, whoever did this…Taki shinobi died. Chuunin, maybe Jounin shinobi of Taki died and we're a tiny itsy Genin unable to do more than water-walk."

"We're going to die…" Shinku croaked out.

"No, we have a team of prodigies. We just need to reach them and warn them all. Our sensei is a Jounin. We just need to go."

"Everything is _dark_."

"Now that you have stated the obvious, grab a match, find something useful from the dead men around us, and move it. If they were going underwater, they had to have something to breathe, right? Or to see in the dark. Glow sticks for example…I'd really like to have a glow stick."

Shinku gently nudged the corpse in front of him.

"Check the pockets."

"What if there's an explosive tag somewhere and I prime it?"

"Doubtful," he muttered. "Whoever killed them probably looted them before us of what they deemed valuable. We'll only find spare stuff…like a glow stick…there! What are you gripping now?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"If it's a glow stick, break it."

Right, right…he had to crack the small thin tube to let it glow…if it was a glow stick.

"Light a match if you want to be sure," his voice came once more to his ears.

He held the possible source of light with his right hand, while gripping on another match for light. The sigh of relief he exhaled spoke volumes. It was a glow stick. He was actually lucky for once.

"This is the power of the chocolate."

"This is sheer damn knowledge of what we have at our disposal and utilizing it for surviving, Shinku. Stop blabbering cheesy nonsense and get to work. Loot. Scavenge. Hunt. Survive. Move it. Move. Move it!"

"All right, all right…"

The soft green glow calmed him down, as his hands soon began to move through the rest of the stuff on the corpse. Holding the stick between his teeth, Shinku gripped at a few spare shuriken and holders, before grabbing on to the flak jacket itself of a Jounin nearby. It was a few sizes bigger than what he usually wore…but it was a _Jounin_ flak jacket, reinforced with thin steel plates within.

It was safety.

Blood was everywhere close to the neck —making it sticky in that area— but at least he'd be safe from a kunai to the stomach.

He dropped a few wet tags out of the pockets and on the ground, before filling the empty spaces with more. Barbed wire, steel wire, shuriken, kunai, even a Tanto found its way on his back followed by a Katana.

It was heavy. Everything he had on weighted him down…but he took a step forward anyway, soon followed by another. He ground his teeth as the glow stick flickered and died, while he moved his hands to grab another.

"The exit must be somewhere…maybe it's like the cave complex?"

"How do we leave then?"

"There's air in here…there must be a way out."

"Like what? A vent upwards?"

"We can climb through those things, Shinku," he muttered. "We can rappel if we need to. We have a damn grappling hook."

"We could wait for help…sensei…"

"He left us. He didn't care. Our teammate had to show off her spoiled side and start a fight with someone who had simply helped us out. We need to get out of here, Shinku. We are alone, you and I. We need only ourselves to survive."

"That…"

"We've always been alone, Shinku Haruno! They wanted a girl, our parents. We came out with a damn wrong appendage more and you know the result! They even kept the room for _her_, as if they even have the time to think about giving you a sister. You're the dead-last. Hibachi roped you in and then what? Did he even inquire about you afterwards? You're the most worthless spineless individual ever to live on this damn earth…so when I tell you to shut up and man up, _I demand you move your damn legs forward!_"

"B-But we could…we could die…"

"You were the one who stood in front of that psychopathic silver-haired bastard claiming you would take any training. Well, he didn't lie Shinku. We're going to die eventually. We aren't prodigies, or stars. We're dead meat walking. We're glorified meat shields. Your teammates will rise, they will become stars and you'll stay behind. You won't get any mention on history books, maybe just a footnote if you're actually able to become a Chuunin…you're scared? I'm terrified! We're both scared Shinku…why else are we speaking? Why else are we telling ourselves this?"

"I've gone mad, completely mad," Shinku muttered, gagging for air as his right hand gripped at the side of the cave's wall.

"I…I want to forget this," he croaked. "Please…get it out of my head."

"I'd follow the snake," his other voice remarked. "Hallucinations are the way to go, I suppose."

It was then that Shinku realized _he wasn't actually alone in there_.

Golden eyes stared at him, a giant bear in its mouth. The Anaconda of the forest of Death was there.

"You're a hallucination," Shinku deadpanned. The anaconda just blinked. "Everything in here is pitch-black. I'm seeing you in the darkness, so you're not real. Clearly…you're not real."

"Do you even care? Hallucinations are common things, be thankful you know it's one," Shinku muttered, taking a few steps forward as the snake's giant jaws snapped down on the bear, swallowing it whole. The creature disappeared in smoke, leaving behind nothing at all.

A light breeze ruffled Shinku's hair.

"Breeze means wind, wind means outside," he hurried along, holding his right hand against the wall's surface. A few minutes that felt like hours later, and light —real light— shone through cracks on the wall.

Shinku was sweating by then profusely, as the heavy weight he bore held him down. "Gah…"

"I say you could drop the katana," he muttered. "It's not like you'll even have the strength to swing it."

"The Tanto too. Really…close and personal is not the place for Tanto. Use a kunai for that, right?" he added as an afterthought. "You don't need fifty kunai. Twenty are enough…"

"You're not dropping the Jounin flak jacket," he said seriously. His right hand touched the melted chocolate in the pocket of his jacket, which was now below the Jounin's one.

His stomach growled. One of the jacket's pockets —the one belonging to the Jounin— held a protein ration. It was no more after a few quick munches, and even the second one soon ended down his stomach. A sip of water from his canteen came next, and then he wobbled forth once more.

The light increased as he finally stepped towards the end of the cave complex. The outside with its cloudy sky loomed just over the cave he had left behind.

The cave apparently had led him once more in Takigakure…only in Inner-Taki.

Inner-Taki…

It was inside the giant tree itself, and the cave actually left him on the _back_ of said giant tree. There was a stone path that led directly inside, which wasn't guarded…but was strewn with corpses.

He pushed his body down on the ground, before slowly crawling forward. He hid behind a large rock across the path, peering over towards the entrance of the tree.

There was no one standing guard. The official guards' corpses were on spikes, hanging and bleeding down on the ground crimson pools.

Shinku closed his eyes, gripping on the stone. On the other side of the tree, life went on as normal. Yet here it was a scene from hell filled with dead bodies.

It wasn't even funny, this sick joke, this…this horrid Genjutsu or hallucination.

"Incoming," he muttered, pressing his body against the ground once more and gazing with narrowed eyes at a shinobi wearing a dark beige chuunin flak jacket. The Chuunin was laughing, shaking his head as if in disbelief over something funny. He didn't have the forehead of Takigakure on his head.

No, he had the one from Amegakure.

It wasn't even slashed, meaning the shinobi was there on an official mission.

The man headed towards a doorway between giant roots, a completely unguarded doorway, and then stilled to knock at the door.

"It's Ame-Ame."

The door opened after that, letting the chuunin inside before closing abruptly behind.

Shinku narrowed his eyes…and then dashed ahead. Jumping, he reached for the summit of one of the roots near the doorway —just slightly above it— and froze.

"Now's the time for knock-knock jokes," Shinku whispered.

"Not now," he replied. "Let's find the team."

He jumped away, pressing his body to the roots every time he saw a flash of something —even if it was a bird most of the time. The tree was enormous, and actually circling it all was a boring and long process…but he wasn't going to fight head-on an invasion force from Amegakure.

If it was an officially sanctioned mission from another village and they had managed to take out all of the shinobi forces…

It meant Takigakure wasn't actually simply attacked. It also meant the trash mission…

No, it couldn't have been a trap for his teammates. There was no way of knowing whom the Hokage would assign to which mission. Yet…if they had anyone on the other side, and that other one told the ones inside of just who was there…

They had to leave.

To hell with Takigakure…they, as a team, had to leave.

The bounty on the Yondaime's daughter was the wet dream of all Iwagakure's Anbu. The one on Sasuke Uchiha was just second to it.

Both of them were a jackpot…and Naruko had been making a scene on the square…the strangely half-desolated square.

He cursed under his breath as he accelerated, overextending his reach and flailing his hands in the air. They gripped onto a branch, his entire body spinning before he let go and soared upwards in the air. His foot slammed against the side of the tree, as he kept up running.

They had to leave. They had to leave _quickly_.

Naruko stood, dumbly looking at the water surface where Shinku had…where he had…

"That's too much of a stupid death," Naruko whispered. "Shin-chan can't be dead from that."

"Did any of your clones survive?" Sasuke shot back.

"No, but the current's too strong. He…he might have survived more than one hit…"

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just left us alone!" Fu had tears in her eyes, her face red as she gazed at them. "You killed him!"

"You dropped him!" Naruko snarled, gazing back with crimson eyes at Fu. "You damn dropped him and he fell down! And then he…he…he's not dead, I can't think he's dead from that. We survived the forest of death! You can't die from this! It's stupid! It's…" Naruko began to sniffle, "It's…It's too stupid to be real…he has to be alive, somewhere…maybe deeper down…"

Sasuke awkwardly took a step forward, before ending up having to pat the back of Naruko's head as the girl cried all her tears on his shoulder.

"It's not fair!" she yelled, "Where was Kakashi-Nii!? Where the hell was he!?"

"I don't know," Sasuke muttered back.

"He had to keep an eye out on him," Naruko whimpered. "We were all supposed to keep an eye out on him because he was the dead-last and he needed a hand…" she sniffled.

"And now…now he's dead…"

"Fu-san," Shibuki said, slowly walking his way towards them. "The elders want to talk with you in Inner-Taki. Don't make them wait."

Fu blinked, before huffing. "The old bastards? All right then," she swiped away her tears. "I'm going just because you're asking, Shibuki."

Wings sprouted from her back —green chakra ones— as she flew off, leaving on the shore the other two.

"What happened?" Shibuki asked then, "Where is your teammate?"

"He…he was sucked in by the current…" Sasuke grimaced.

"_**THAT DAMN BITCH DROPPED HIM IN THE LAKE!**_" Naruko screamed then, her roar rippling the water and making the shore's sand fly everywhere. Sasuke gripped on Naruko's neck then. "Let me go! Let me go, Sasuke! I'm going to rip her to shreds! I'll…I'm going to…"

"It is…unfortunate," Shibuki muttered. "Sometimes you never find the bodies…it happens rarely to Takigakure shinobi, but it does happen."

Naruko's tear filled eyes settled on Shibuki. "You…why…just _why_ did it happen to him?" Naruko slumped down on the sand, before punching her right hand against the ground. "I swear…I swear I'm never going to forgive Kakashi-Nii for this…he should have been there…he should…"

"He was called back urgently to Konoha," Shibuki said, "The Hokage himself gave the order apparently. Since you are done for the day…if you want I can show you where Takigakure honours their dead…we have a place in inner Taki for that."

"Aren't we prohibited from getting in?"

"My…father died," he grimaced, "I learned that just today —he died while I was in Konoha. I'm the new leader so…if you want to come in and pay your respects…the temple is just close to the entrance anyway."

"All right," Naruko murmured. "I owe it to Shin-chan at least…if I hadn't been this stupid," she clenched her fists. "If only I hadn't…"

Sasuke remained quiet. He followed in silence, holding an arm around Naruko's shoulder to comfort her. He would have never imagined something like this to happen…it was such a stupid way of dying, such a utterly moronic…such…it was too impossible to properly rationalize it yet…

Yet it had happened.

Shinku had died.

What would they tell his family? 'Sorry the Dobe had to yell at the girl who was holding your son up in the air'?

What…really…could they tell them? It was the first C-rank. The Jounin-sensei supposedly had to keep an eye out on his students, all of them. He hadn't. He had gone and left them in a foreign village —allied as it was— and…

The moment they stepped through a set of heavy wood doors, a thick water whip came down with incomparable strength on the side of Naruko's face. The girl literally snapped like a twig, her entire body twirling in mid-air before slamming on the ground —the large gash on her face spraying blood everywhere.

Sasuke's entire body felt as if a strong force was entrapping him in beneath miles of water, while a spherical water prison formed around him. A man with the Takigakure shinobi symbol walked forward, while another with the Amegakure symbol was the one holding him prisoner.

"You did well Shibuki," Suien said crisply. "See that it wasn't that difficult?"

"Now let the villagers go," Shibuki croaked. "You've got them like you wanted!"

"Teams have three members," Suien stated, "I'm missing one."

"He's dead," Shibuki said, gazing at Sasuke's flailing hands —as they tried to grasp outside of the bubble. "He got sucked in by one of the pool water currents."

"Carry the Jinchuuriki off to the chamber of seals with Fu," Suien muttered to two chuunin nearby. "While you, Shibuki…bring me the Hero water and then, if you're quick enough, the villagers won't die."

"That wasn't what you promised!"

Sasuke was starting to lose the air in his lungs.

"Deals can change. Now move!"

Sasuke's sight grew less.

He could break free…maybe…if he…

Then he realized that even if he did, there was a Chuunin holding on to Naruko. How far would he go before they'd menace of slitting her throat?

He fell into unconsciousness willingly. They wouldn't remove his eyes without him first activating them anyhow. He'd escape then.

Then, he'd make them _all_ pay.

An Uchiha never forgets.

**Author's notes**

**Will Sasuke shine in his hero hour? Will Shinku actually manage to do something? Will the world burn all the same with the rising prices of gasoline?**


	25. Gory End For Innocence Lost

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Five

There was no one in outer Taki by the time he reached the first rooftops. All of the buildings were empty. The people weren't there, and neither were his teammates. His body tightly curled into a ball, his eyes peered towards the direction of Takigakure's giant tree and main entrance to inner Taki. He had circled around the tree, and yet there had been no other entrance.

Had his team simply left?

Maybe they had. Like always, they had left him alone, leaving him behind.

Had they even looked for him to begin with?

"Don't you dare cry," he murmured. "You're not out of danger."

"I…"

"I can feel those tears in your eyes' corners. You are not going to cry."

"But…"

"Look, follow your smart other-self advice and we'll be safe and happy," he whispered, closing his eyes shut. "We need a plan. We have time. We can wait."

"The only way out is through the cave complex," Shinku began, "The only ones who know the way out are Takigakure shinobi."

"We need a Takigakure shinobi or villager then," he added, "And they all seem in inner Taki."

He nodded. "So, first thing first, we get inside."

Shinku stared blearily at the tree. "The doors are probably guarded. We'll need another entrance…it's not like you can fly over to the branches…"

"No, but you can run on it."

"Then what? We chop ourselves a way through?" Shinku muttered.

"They'll need to have lights inside. I bet the leader of the village has a house up in the branches for the scenery, like the Hokage's mansion being near the monument of the past Hokage."

Shinku exhaled. "Are we sure about this?"

"You be the arm, leave me the mind. You're not alone, Shinku. I'm here. We'll make it through."

Shinku clenched his right hand into a fist, before opening his eyes. "We're not fighting anyone."

"No, we're doing the ninja. We'll go in, unseen, and leave, unseen."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

"If you jinx this I swear I will impale myself on a pike," he growled. "Now move."

Shinku gazed at the nearest root of the giant tree, concentrating his chakra as he flickered from his spot over to the area he had gazed on. His feet landed firmly on the root, his body squatting down to minimize the chances of the enemy seeing him.

"No radio talk," Shinku muttered. "Not that I actually have a radio."

"Start climbing. Use the chakra only if we're nearly there. Remember to rappel and keep the hooks. Your chakra reserves are so pitiful a new born baby could do better."

"Are you encouraging me or trying to weather down my self-esteem?"

"Are you afraid? No. Therefore, it's working. Concentrate Shinku. Listen to my voice and climb the damn tree."

First was 'hook' number one, then the rope around his waist. Hook number two came soon afterwards as he gripped tightly on two Kunai, before slamming them on the wood surface and pushing himself up. Holding on to the 'hooks' better known as kunai, he began to climb.

Thunk.

Thunk.

The sharp points of the weapons dug in the bark, as soon Shinku left behind the ground. He exhaled, his arms trembling. He carefully pointed his feet against the trunk and let go of the hooks, to test the system. They did actually hold a bit of his weight —not much, but it worked as a momentary rest.

He began to climb again shortly after.

Maybe, if he had luck, he'd find a window or something.

He didn't have that luck, and his hands scraped themselves bare from the pressure of holding on to the kunai's handles. Blood dribbled down his palms as the final stretch came to be through the strength of desperation.

He would have killed someone for a pair of wings, in that moment.

One of the closer branches was just a light jump away from him, and as he hurried along the bark, in that moment…

He went nearly dry on chakra.

The sensation of emptiness sucking at his very stomach doubled him over, as his hands gripped on to the kunai planted firmly on the tree's trunk. He sucked in sharply, before whimpering. "Move, Shinku. _Move_."

"Hurts. Hurts…it hurts…"

"Move you useless pathetic sac of flesh!" he snarled, slamming the kunai forward. "You're a shinobi. You're born to kill and endure. Endure. Move it, Shinku. Move!" another slamming slightly above. "Climb this damn tree or die trying! Nobody cares about you anyway! You're in this shit alone with me, and I'm you! Climb!"

One more thunk, then another…by the third his left leg could practically touch the branch. The moment he finally reached the thick wooden branch…he collapsed on it, breathing hard through both his mouth and his nose. He stared at the taller branches, way above him…and chuckled.

"I'm not going to make it…"

"You're more than halfway there," he croaked. "Just…rest for the moment."

"All right…"

His eyes closed, and when they did his entire body simply slumped down. He was too tired to even think, let alone move.

What was he doing? He was going to die —there was no way a group of shinobi who could take over a village would have trouble dealing with him. Probably the only reason he wasn't taken…was because they thought him dead, and he wasn't a menace to anyone even if they believed him alive.

The rustling of leaves woke him up, as the pitch black darkness that surrounded him told him it was high time he started climbing once more. It was night.

He gripped at a glow stick, before stilling. He was in the dark. If he used it and someone saw him…then it wouldn't turn out pretty at all.

Better to climb in silence and darkness.

"Being in the dark isn't scary, Shinku," he whispered. "It's just normal…really…we're shinobi…we're used to dark places."

"I want to go back home," he croaked, as he slammed his right kunai on the bark. His palms screamed in agony to him, but he ground his teeth and ignored them. "I want to go back to the empty kitchen."

"I want to survive," he snarled. "And we will survive, Shinku. No matter what we'll have to do. We're survivors, Shinku. Let's survive together."

"Then I can go back home?" another slam on the wood as he climbed.

"Yes, then we can go back home."

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Naruko's ears perked up.

The noise was rhythmic and constant, and seemed to come from behind the wall. The room she was in had seals she knew all too well over all of the walls. The fact she was sharing the room with Fu furthermore made wonders for her mood.

"We can't use chakra in here," Fu stated plainly, gazing at her hard. "Why are you here anyway?"

Naruko growled, before wincing and holding on to the right side of her face. She could heal any wound, they wouldn't even leave a scar afterwards but…but with her chakra stilled all that fuzzy-butt had managed to do was to repair her jaw. The angry red line on the side of her face was probably going to stay for a long while.

Would it even scar? If it did, though…was she still going to be a bride in the future?

Maybe she could count it off as a long whisker —one that came out wrong.

"They knocked me out," Naruko growled. "They…" it hurt to even speak, "I don't know… Where is my teammate anyway?"

"I don't know. The elders put me in here for time-out whenever I act bad," Fu mumbled. "I obey because otherwise they don't even feed me…"

"Fat chance…you killed your team, I wouldn't even be near you unless…"

"It was an accident!" Fu yelled back, tears in her eyes. "I didn't know how to control the Nanabi! We were out on a mission, shinobi attacked! I ended up using it…I…when I came to my senses they were all dead, devoured by my insects and…and…" she sniffled, "There was nothing I could do! What do you know about it anyway!?"

"Ohi," Naruko snapped, "If that was the truth then why didn't you say so!?"

"I did! But they didn't believe me," she chuckled mirthlessly. "My parents abandoned me at birth, when I became the Nanabi's Jinchuuriki. I grew up in the orphanage of Takigakure, shunned by everyone else. I thought I'd make friends with my teammates, and things even had begun to look up…" she shook her head, before grabbing at her stomach with her nails. "Then this stupid, worthless thing came and took it all away."

She slammed her right fist against the side of the wall.

"That won't be a problem for long," a voice called from behind the wooden door of the cell, as the upper wooden pannel used to look inside the cell moved to the side to reveal an old face with spiky hair. "Soon, someone will come to take care of both of you. They'll pay me handsomely for delivering you both."

"Suien!" Fu shrieked. "You're supposed to be a missing-nin! What are you doing in Taki!?"

"You don't know? You didn't realize it? We have Taki now, and soon the Hero water will be ours…as soon as Shibuki returns, we'll have everything we need to become the most powerful village in the history of the elemental nations!"

"What? But…"

"There, there," Suien sarcastically said. "It's going to be all right soon. You'll be sold, we'll have a profit, and everyone will be happy. Of course you'll die, but that is really not something I care about, Jinchuuriki," he spat out that word as an insult, before spitting on the ground in front of them. Then the wooden panel slid back into its place, leaving both girls once more alone.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

"You can do this," a small voice whispered in the back of Shinku's ear, as he carefully reached a balcony. The thing had practically 'grown' out of the tree, and hidden as it was by thick branches, it looked all the more important. There was actually a guard, and that was what stopped him dead on his tracks. The man was looking backwards, a cigarette in his mouth

Shinku was just beneath the balcony, holding on to his breath.

"So the sellers are going to pay us five million ryos for the Nanabi? What about the Kyuubi?"

"I didn't tell them about it. Iwagakure pays more for the Yondaime's daughter —one hundred millions dead, two hundred millions alive."

Someone whistled at the high price. "That much!?"

"Iwagakure doesn't forget easily. And she's also the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, so there's that to consider."

"And she's a girl," another voice snickered. "Guess they'll parade a string of bastards in front of her father?"

"Oh, probably to rile him up," the older voice remarked. "Maybe they'll take turns with the entire village —they were a bit lacking in population and whores after all."

Shinku's face turned green. What were they talking about? Well, he actually had an idea about it.

"Remain quiet," the voice hissed to the back of his ear. "Steady and wait."

"Hisame, you leaving?"

"I'm not going to stay here and hear you lot talk of this, it's disgusting," a female voice spoke, before a door slid open and then closed with a loud bang.

"What's her problem now?"

"She had _issues_ with our superior back in Amegakure."

"You think we could take the girl for a test-ride?"

"Kirisame, you sicko… she's thirteen! Urgh, now you've wasted my appetite."

"Ohi, you bastard! You were the one talking of Iwagakure!" 'Kirisame' snapped back.

"Yes, but Iwagakure is a land of sick fucks, so…"

Shinku swallowed, holding his breath.

"Ah, I was joking anyway," 'Kirisame' retorted, "The villagers are down in the barracks, right? I'll find myself a pretty little thing there…"

"Not too little, I hope."

"Shut the fuck up, Murasame!"

Shinku bit down on his lips. His hands were killing him, but he was still holding on.

"I'm going to the training grounds," 'Murasame' snorted. "You guys, keep it down."

The door opened and closed repeatedly, until in the end the guy with the cigarette —the one who was at the balcony— threw the burnt off nicotine tube away.

"Any of you up for a drink?"

Shinku carefully peeked slightly above the balcony's rail, gazing at the shinobi that were in the room and its general layout.

It looked like a sort of lounge, with a sofa and a few low tables. There were a couple of cupboards —open and with their contents a bit everywhere— plus what looked like a big kitchen. He hadn't been wrong about the village leader's house apparently.

The missing-nin all had flak jackets, and as a large group left for the door two others remained behind.

Cigarette-guy rolled another, his eyes down and concentrated on the task while his colleague was with a hand over his face, snoring on the sofa.

It could have been an everyday slice of life scene.

If not for the fact those two were missing-nin, who had probably killed their fair deal of shinobi, and they were barring his only way through. It was night, why couldn't they just be asleep to begin with?

The lights coming in from the room were another problem to solve. He took a deep breath, before tightening the grasp on his kunai.

"A shinobi must kill his heart," he mouthed.

"No, no," he shook his head. "I'm going to die if I do this," he mimicked talking by moving his lips, without actually letting sound come from his throat.

"Jump, slice the neck of cig-guy…"

There was a light sound of footsteps as cigarette guy returned to the balcony, a new cigarette in his mouth.

Hiding beneath it once more, Shinku gripped tightly on the handles of his kunai, to the point where blood once more began to dribble.

_**Kill or be killed.**_

_Killing is wrong._

_**You're a shinobi. Kill. Kill. Kill.**_

_I can wait for him to leave._

_**They'll kill her.**_

_I can…_

_**They'll kill her. Kill or be killed. Kill or be Killed. Die then. Do you want to die? Die then.**_

_I don't want to die._

_**THEN KILL HIM.**_

Cold-blooded murder sounded so easy, when explained by the academy teacher to a class of students with sparkling eyes caught up in the 'heroic' depiction of the shinobi.

Cold-blooded murder was not easy.

Shinku held on to the balcony's side by using chakra on his feet, before extending the rope between his two kunai and forming a wide noose. Quietly, he took aim.

His hand trembled.

_**Steady. STEADY. STEADY SHINKU. DO YOU WANT TO DIE SHINKU? STEADY!**_

Then he threw the noose, and jumped downwards.

There was an 'urk', followed by a snap as a body plummeted on the branch beneath with him…_beheaded neatly_. Blood sprayed on the branch, as Shinku's right hand went to his mouth to hold in the bile and the retching.

He had killed a man.

He had killed a man with a rope. He had beheaded someone. He…he…

He had killed someone.

_Am I a murderer?_

_**Shinobi. Kill or be killed. Come on, Shinku. Kill or be Killed. Kill. Kill. Kill them. Do you want to die Shinku?**_

_I don't want to die! Stop it!_

_**THEN KILL THEM ALL SHINKU, IT'S EASY ISN'T IT!?**_

Slowly, he crept back up on the balcony and quietly moved towards the inside of the room. The other missing-nin was peacefully snoring, without a care in the world.

Shinku gripped his kunai.

_He's sleeping!_

_**Enemies. Must. Die. They will kill you. They will have no mercy. You heard them. Kill him. Kill him.**_

_I…I can't…_

_**YOUR HANDS ARE CRIMSON, SHINKU! YOU CAN. YOU DID. DO IT AGAIN. KILL.**_

The shinobi opened his eyes when Shinku's knee hit the low table. The enemy ninja realized what was going on too late, as Shinku's kunai came down again. Shinku's eyes closed as he ground his teeth and hissed, a whimper escaping his throat, as the enemy's hands clawed at his own…they were alive, trying to push the kunai away. The kunai that was killing…that was an instrument of death.

The enemy whimpered too, as his body suddenly went shock still with its eyes rolled on the back.

Shinku fell on his knees, retching on the richly furred carpet.

_**Move. Move. A shinobi that doesn't move is dead. Move. Move. Get out of here. Henge. Henge is useful. Survive.**_

_Gah…He…he…_

_**Kill or be killed. You're innocent. You're a shinobi. Murderers kill for no reason. We have one…survival.**_

He shakily brought his hands together for a henge before puffing in smoke to appear similar to the man he had just killed. It wasn't a good job, but it was dark and, as he turned off the light, in the night nobody was going to care much about it.

It was probably slightly after dinnertime, if the smell of cooked food was of any indication.

"Ohi! Endo!" he had rounded a corner, when one of the missing-nin from before was now in front of him. He froze where he stood, his right hand going to cover his mouth and most of his face as he gave a loud yawn.

"You bastard! Trying to sneak out of poker night by faking sleep uh," he had no idea who the man was...but he was alone, and that was enough.

He gave a light nod of the head, walking closer and keeping his eyes drooped down.

"Hey, man? Is that blood on your shoes?"

Chakra flared from his feet as Shinku slid forward, the frictionless charge slamming his elbow straight in the man's guts, before his kunai came up from his left sleeve and pierced straight through the man's mouth and throat. Holding him close, Shinku's eyes closed as he heard the gurgling sounds of the enemy missing-nin _drowning in his own blood_.

He dropped the body on the side of the hallway, before stilling halfway through his next step.

"I just killed a Chuunin."

"Missing-Nin, they're sort-of failed Chuunin," he retorted calmly.

"I…"

"Calm down, take a deep breath, and redo the Henge without the blood. Try to avoid leaving stamps…and find the others. I'm pretty sure Naruko's somewhere around here…where would you hold a Jinchuuriki?"

"Somewhere it can be contained."

"Good, let's look for a helpful sign which reads 'Containment Room ahead, do not disturb'."

Shinku snorted, his next steps turning him into a copy of the most recent man he had killed. "You make it sound so easy," he whispered…

"It is," he remarked. "We kill people, finding a room in a house is supposed to be easy."

Along the way, he turned off the lights. He really did prefer the dark —and it helped keep his Henge working.

He just hoped everything would turn out as fine as it had been until then.

The moment he gripped tightly on the melted chocolate piece…he really hoped that.

Sasuke opened his eyes. All he saw was the black darkness of a blindfold over his face.

"You sure the Uchiha can't do anything with a blindfold on?"

"Sure, what else can their sharingan do?"

Sasuke just smiled, before saying a single word.

"_**SUSANOO!"**_

**Author's notes**

**Who's a hero, who's a monster…who's a fighter and who's a sinner…**

**Shinku killed three people. He is now officially far more powerful than Sakura has ever been…up to the point where Sakura killed Sasori.**

…**And Sakura had an assist.**

**And he doesn't even have chakra techniques worthy of praise.**

**I'm actually disheartened by Kishimoto. I suppose that if Sakura had been a male, then she would have grown too —apparently Kishi's problem is that he can't 'write' females. He could have made her a tomboy —end of the problem.**

**BTW. Nobody realized it up to this point…**

**It's a mind fuck, but if you haven't seen it yet…**

**Read the first letters of every chapter. 'TSUKUYOMI GENTEI' is cycled in repeat. I thought someone would have caught on by now. (It holds no meaning whatsoever with the plot of The Boy in the Team, I just did it as a quirk)**


	26. Ending Without Glory

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Susanoo's blade carved through the wooden walls like butter, tearing apart the floor and the ceiling equally. Standing within its purple chakra, Sasuke's eyes shone darkly. He couldn't hold it for long, but for what little he could…he'd use it. The chakra blade sliced once, and only once, through the building that kept him prisoner.

Around him, he could hear the screams of others.

The Susanoo disappeared shortly thereafter, leaving him to collapse on the floor wheezing out what little air he could. The Mangekyou might have been powerful, but every power had a cost. Around him was now the open night sky, as the rubble had fallen blocking the path to him from those still in the house —he was actually able to see a small round square from his spot, which he could reach with ease.

The crying and the screaming however caught his attention. It was then that he realized he hadn't been alone in his 'prison'. There had been women and children, probably no further than a few cells away from him. A few dug their way out scared senseless, but all were unmistakeably shaken and bloodied.

Sasuke swallowed his guilt down. He didn't need that now. He needed to think, and be ready to fight. A child clutched the dust-covered limb of his mother, which emerged from the rubble lifelessly. He closed his eyes, he closed his eyes but it was too late. The sharingan would never make him forget that instant, that picture, that image.

Forever, he would remember.

Bile rose to his throat…for all of his stoicism…to remember clearly, as if it had happened the very minute before…it was a curse, not a gift. No amount of convincing from his father would tell him otherwise. He remembered. He remembered and because of that, he shuddered and curled down in a ball on the ground.

Naruko felt the earth tremble slightly, before wincing as Fu slammed her fists against the closed door once more. They hadn't been chained —then again without chakra, what use was there— but that helped little when they were without equipment.

"Open up!" Fu screamed. "I'm hungry! Open up! I want dinner! Open up!"

"Shut up!" a male voice growled back. The wooden panel slid to the side, as an angry face showed through. In that moment, Fu slammed her fist straight through the door's panel knocking the guard unconscious. The girl then smiled as she pushed as much of her left limb out of there, nimbly reaching for the lock on the other side of the door.

"Damn…I can't reach his keys!" she hissed.

"You could have planned it better;" Naruko snarled.

"You weren't trying anything, bimbo!"

"Only Uke-chan can call me bimbo, bug-freak!"

Fu pulled herself away from the door, before dashing towards it and slamming her shoulder against it. "Ah!" wincing, the Nanabi's Jinchuuriki cradled her shoulder.

"That was pathetic," Naruko snorted. "This is how you do it."

The next moment, her shoulder slammed against the door —it rattled, but it did not open. Naruko growled, before kicking it sulkily.

"Damn door."

"Was that how you showed me?" Fu asked sarcastically, "I'm impressed."

"You! This is your entire fault!" Naruko yelled. "If you hadn't dropped Shin-chan, we wouldn't be in this problem!"

"Mine!? You could have just left me in peace with him! I just wanted someone to talk with, and he was kind enough to listen to me! You could have talked with him at any moment, but you didn't!"

Naruko flinched. "That's not true! Shin-chan's really shy!"

"Did you ever even talk _with_ him? I know a lot of things about him," Fu crossed her arms over her chest, lifting her chin to the side with a smug smile on her face, "Because we talked. He's kind of shy and doesn't like much being the centre of the attention, that's true but…but once he opens up, he's really easy to talk to. I bet you don't even know when his birthday is!"

"And how would you know?" Naruko retorted hotly.

"I asked him," she shrugged. "I asked him why he became a shinobi, and we ended up talking about his parents. Then we talked about cakes —he can bake them too, you know— and from there he admitted to baking his own birthday cake," then she smiled. "Of course you know about it, right?"

"Ah…right!" Naruko sputtered. "We're teammates, so it's obvious I know about that! Really!"

"Oh? Then when is his birthday?"

"It's…It's…in…" Naruko coughed something that resembled a 'gargle-ember'.

"Wrong," Fu replied dryly. "You knew nothing of him, yet you simply demanded him to be your friend. What friend were you then? A horrible one. Friends should be friends because they share things with one another, not because one is at the beck and call of the other."

Naruko looked down, sniffling. "He's dead, so what can I do about it now?"

There was a soft rattling of keys at the door.

Then the lock gave way and Shinku Haruno stepped inside, his body half-covered in blood.

"GAH A GHOST!" Fu and Naruko both shrieked, grabbing a hold of one another. Shinku winced, before cracking a wry smile.

"Cavalry's…here," he held up a bitter smile. Behind him, the shinobi Fu had downed now sported a thin slit at the neck, from which blood spilled out copiously on the ground.

"You're…you're alive, Shin-chan?" Naruko asked.

"Yeah," he chuckled lightly. "I am," he shook his head. "We…we should leave."

"We need to find Uke-chan first!" Naruko exclaimed, before warily stepping closer to him. A bit stiffly, Naruko hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're alive, Shin-chan."

Shinku stiffened in return, before exhaling a long breath of relief. "I'm glad too."

Fu fidgeted with her fingers, before walking closer. "I…I'm sorry I dropped you."

"Ah…well…" his smile grew strained, "It's fine…I suppose…" he looked around. "We need to leave this place though," he snapped curtly. "It's just a matter of time before they find the bodies."

"Bodies?" Naruko asked, blinking. "What bodies?"

"Ah, well…" Shinku hesitantly began, before his face morphed into a grimace. "The ones I killed to get till here of course. There wasn't much of a choice. Kill or be killed. We should leave. Mobility is what makes a shinobi such. Let's move. We can talk while moving out of here."

Then Shinku sped up, starting to walk down the hallway with a startled Naruko and Fu hurrying behind him.

"Shin-chan, are you all right?" Naruko asked.

"Yes," he meekly muttered. "I'm fine…really, nearly drowning because I was the centre of a child's scuffle does wonders to my mood however," he added in a near growl. "But…it's fine," once more, his voice turned low. "It's not like holding a grudge will do me any good, right?"

He stopped before another round of stairs, which seemed to descend. "Fu, aren't you from Taki? Do you know the way down from here?"

"Ah," Fu blinked. "I can carry you down with my wings," she added.

"Flying in mid-air is risky, they could see us," Shinku retorted.

Naruko blinked. Something was definitively going on with Shin-chan. His eyes seemed to trail off in the distance every now and then, and the way he spoke went up and down, as if he was under a caffeine rush.

"Can you use the Nanabi?" he asked then suddenly, "It would be easy to finish them up then."

Fu's eyes widened in disbelief, "You know about it?"

"They talked about selling you to someone," he retorted, "Up in the lounge. I stuck around long enough to hear Naruko's bounty is on the two-hundred millions ryos alive, for Iwagakure."

Naruko whistled. "Damn! You think if I give them an arm they'll pay me something?"

"We need to leave the village," Shinku retorted hotly. "We need a Takigakure shinobi to do so," he added. "I was planning on getting a villager but…Fu-san? Can you guide us out?"

Fu nodded quickly. "Uh-uh. I know how to leave…but," she looked around. "Taki's my home, so I don't want to leave it." She suddenly clapped her hands. "I'll just guide you all out and then come back to kill them all," she smiled brightly as she said that. "It works, right?"

Naruko's eyes widened in disbelief, "W-what!?"

"Yes, it's fine," Shinku retorted, gripping on the kunai in his right hand tightly. "Right…equipment."

A bunch of kunai and shuriken found their way —together with bundles of steel wire— in Naruko's and Fu's extended hands.

Naruko's mind finally caught on to what was strange.

"Shin-chan! Where did you find a Jounin flak jacket!?"

"They hid the corpses of the Takigakure shinobi they killed down in the caves," Shinku muttered. "When I was…dropped…" he brought a hand to his mouth, breathing in deeply, "I…well…they were there. The…bodies. Can we talk about something else, please?"

"Yes," a male voice said from the end of the hallway. "How about we talk of how you're all going back in the cell?"

"Suien!" Fu snarled, showing her teeth to the Jounin with the Takigakure symbol on his forehead. "You aren't going to win this!"

"Oh, but now I have something more," with that said, he gripped tightly on a plastic bottle, while holding Shibuki with his other hand. "I have the Hero Water now. You Jinchuuriki don't scare me at all."

Two Amegakure shinobi appeared then next to him.

"Kirisame, Murasame," as he said that, the bottle of water passed hands as each of the shinobi took a sip. "Take the Jinchuuriki down, I'll deal personally with the boy," he smiled then wickedly, as chakra flared visible to the naked eye from the body of all three shinobi.

Shinku swallowed. He wasn't referring to _him_, right? He wasn't the 'leader' of the team. Clearly, that was Sasuke or Naruko. He didn't need 'special treatment'. He…

Suien was fast.

The sword of water, a highly secret technique of Takigakure's elite shinobi, slammed into Shinku's stomach and sent him reeling backwards a few feet. His back crashed against the wooden wall, before his body rolled down the stairs and fell limply on the floor below. Retching blood, pain was all Shinku could see —that and stars, many stars.

A strong kick sent him flying in the air, before the sword made of condensed water and chakra sliced down on his sides. The Jounin's flak jacket actually saved his life in that moment, deadening the otherwise fatal blow and sending him to slam on the ground.

Shinku gagged, before puking out blood and gasping for air once more. Everything around him seemed to spin, as he barely managed to lift himself of an inch from the ground, before falling back down.

"Kids like you shouldn't be heroes," Suien snarled. "What did you think you could do, uh? You thought you could win? You thought you could be a hero?" the man kicked Shinku by the ribs, turning the boy chest up. "You're worthless, brat. The Jinchuuriki will be short work now that we have the—"

"_**RASENGAN!"**_

From above, the ground itself trembled as a _male_ voice came through, before the ceiling gave way as a spiky blond haired man with bright cerulean eyes came down with murder in his eyes.

Suien paled.

It lasted only a second.

The Yondaime Hokage tore through the visible chakra of the Takigakure shinobi with an ease that looked beyond human, the sphere of bright blue chakra visibly shining even through the darkening vision of Shinku.

It was…over.

He could let go.

"Kid?" the Yondaime said, grabbing on to him. "Don't fall asleep. Stick with me. You hear my voice? Stick with my voice. Everything is going to be fine now. I brought reinforcements. You have to stay awake until we get a medic-nin here…stay awake, got it?"

"Shin-chan!" Naruko's blurred form appeared close by then, "Shin-chan?" she didn't even look worse for wear. He was the only one wounded, probably…_again_…

Wasn't he simply _**pathetic**_?

_Cracked ribs as a minimum…broken spine…hope not…I'd like to walk…hospital…I'm sure…damn if I'm tired…_

_**Is that a toad?**_

_Where?_

_**Blurred green thing.**_

_Why are we discussing what a blurred green thing is now?_

_**If we're going to die…let's die with a smile on our lips.**_

_That's…stupid._

_**Well, now you know what it's like, dealing with you.**_

He opened his eyes to the smell of a hospital room. Shinku felt numb, his entire body covered in bandages and casts. His gaze settled on both sides of the bed. They were empty.

_**Nobody cares.**_

He would have liked it, if there had been any sign at all of the passage of someone in the room. There were no flowers. Nobody had sent him cookies or postcards. He was strapped to the bed, without anyone else in and…

He tried to move, before hissing in pain and stilling once more. No, moving was out of the question.

_**We're alone.**_

"Ah…" he exhaled. He coughed slightly. "W…water…"

The door slid open then, as a blond haired man stepped inside. He had a clipboard and a pen in his hands, but he wasn't dressed like a medic. If anything, he looked more like one of those guys from the torture and interrogation department.

Wait…he looked very similar to Ino's father, now that he thought about it —the man had come for a 'show and tell' if he remembered…

"Haruno-san?" the man sat down near him, "My name is Yamanaka Inoichi, do you know where you are?"

"K-Konoha?"

"Very well," the man nodded. "It was judged better to place you in the isolation ward of the hospital until a time where you could be cleared for visits."

He was in the isolation ward? Why? He frowned for a moment, before wincing. "C-can I have…some water, please?"

"No liquids are allowed," the man made a sympathetic smile, "Nothing is actually allowed in here without supervision. This is the hospital ward for shinobi who might pose a risk for the well-being of other patients, and water techniques exist after all…"

There was a moment of silence.

"You'll be out from here soon, just the time to answer my questions, Haruno-san."

"Y-Yes," Shinku murmured.

"Well," Inoichi said, "You killed for the first time during the mission, right?"

"Yes," he blearily said with a cracked voice.

_**Kill or be killed.**_

"How did that make you feel?"

_**Satisfied. It proved we were strong, we were capable…we were survivors.**_

"U…Ugly, it was…I felt sick," he could feel the bile rise from his throat, "I…I still don't…"

"I understand," Inoichi nodded. "Let us talk about something else then," he scribbled something down on his clipboard.

"I heard from your teammates you separated because of an accident. What happened?"

_**I was weak. They pulled us in the midst of their games. We lost. We fell. We should have been stronger.**_

"T-There…was a discussion," he mumbled, "I…we, me and…Fu, were flying but I flailed a bit and so…I fell."

"I see," Inoichi nodded. He scribbled something else down on his clipboard. Really, what was he writing there?

"Would you mind if I entered your memories?" Inoichi said then. "I could clear you much faster if I could see what happened with my eyes."

"Ah;" Shinku swallowed.

_**No. No. No. No. NO.**_

"No," he croaked out. "I..."

"It is not pleasant, I admit," Inoichi stated, "But whatever I see will be held under the confidentiality secret between patient and doctor."

"Patient?"

"Every shinobi undergoes psychological evaluation after their first kill and thereafter on a yearly basis. Normally it is done by a member of the Yamanaka clan, but the Hokage requested I took care of Team Seven personally," he hazarded a smile. "There is really nothing to fear."

"No," Shinku muttered. "No."

"All right," Inoichi nodded. "I know it might be overwhelming, but don't close yourself off. If you ever need someone to speak to, remember that my door is always open."

_**Isn't that the usual cliché line of all doctors? You still have to take an appointment though.**_

"Ah…yes?"

"Would you be willing to have a visitor?" Inoichi asked then, his voice gentle. "I heard from the staff she stubbornly refused to leave the hospital's lounge until you could receive visits."

"H-How long was I?"

"One day and a half," Inoichi replied. "No wonder you're thirsty…just take it easy for the moment, Haruno-san. You did well. You did very well."

"But I…I lost."

"You freed your teammate however, and she managed to use a summoned toad to warn the Yondaime in time after that. You placed your life at risk to save her, without any backup available."

_**Who am I, the tooth fairy?**_

"It speaks highly of your courage."

_**Courage in death is foolish.**_

"Thanks?"

Inoichi nodded, before raising an eyebrow.

"About the visitor…"

"Oh, yeah…yes…It's fine…"

Inoichi stood up then, and walked out briskly. A few moments later and the hospital door slid open to allow Fu to enter. Somehow, while he hadn't expected his parents —it was work time, after all— he still had hoped for his mother.

"Hey!" Fu exclaimed, before sitting down close to his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a Jounin," he muttered back.

"I know the feeling," Fu nodded. "You should have seen how angry Na-chan was when you were flung against the wall and then down the stairs! She nearly ripped into the two of them alone, but I was there to give a hand of course. She then summoned this small toad and snapped at the little guy, who puffed in smoke. Before the two shinobi from Ame could react bam! There was the Yondaime! He's like, a myth you know? And he was there and he went all 'Rasengan'! Swoosh!"

She actually mimicked the battle scenes. "And then he literally broke the floor and took care of Suien in a second! He was so cool!"

_**We enjoyed being the punching bag, of course.**_

"Not that you weren't cool too!" Fu hastily added, "You came to save us! My hero!" she actually fluttered her eyes, before smiling brightly. "Oh, right! I'm in Konoha now for a while…when you get better, can you show me around?"

"I don't know…how long they'll keep me here," he remarked. "Maybe you could ask…" he blinked then. Was 'Uzumaki-san' proper after all? He had avoided up to that moment to use the name of his teammates, because he didn't know how to call them. He knew he should have asked first things first, but…but he simply hadn't.

"Naruko-san," he said then. "If she can…"

Fu pouted for a moment, looking visibly unhappy, before blinking.

"Oh, they didn't tell you?"

"What?"

"Your other teammate…Uke-san," Shinku refrained from pointing out how no, 'Sasuke' wasn't really called 'Uke' as a given name, "is in isolation too. I don't know why," she hastily added.

"W…Was he attacked?" he hadn't thought about it, but hadn't there been a woman too? If there had been a woman, then…she had gone down, right? Maybe the Amegakure kunoichi had attacked Sasuke and…

"I don't know," Fu mumbled. "But you know what? I met with the Aburame and they were kind enough to offer me a place to crash while I'm in Konoha," she smiled. "They've got insects too! And some are flesh-eating just like mine! And did you know that there are rare breeds that…"

His skin began to itch at the fiftieth type of insect…

Nevertheless, he no longer felt sad about being alone, because he wasn't.

He had a friend nearby, and that was all that he needed.

**Author's notes**

**Uhm…Fushin, Shinfu…It would be nice…and then she dies and the gut punch makes everyone keel over.**

**The Takigakure mission is over.**

**The reason the Hiraishin seal didn't immediately bring Minato to the fore is that the seal doesn't act like a 'Status-Bar' that Minato can always know of. It's just a seal. A 'point' Minato can reach. IT doesn't actually tell him if Naruko is fine/angry/sad/wounded. (Kakashi actually pointed it out before) There are summons for that however, so yes, that was how they got away.**

**Of course, I know it might seem anti-climactic, but Canon had Naruto and Sasuke (Genin) defeat Suien (Jounin) while Shibuki used the Hero water to take care of the Ame Shinobi.**

**And Shinku shone in his own peculiar way…but concerning **_**brutality**_**, it's coming too. There are **_**two**_** sides of the coin after all. Kakashi's and co reactions come next chapter.**


	27. Normality Returns

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The medics moved him out of isolation by the end of the day. It was then that Naruko showed up, sitting down on the chair near his bedside and fidgeting with her fingers. There was a small scar marring her right cheek now, it looked like a fourth whisker, if not for the fact it stood diagonally across them.

"You know," she said abruptly, "I've known Sasuke for like…years. He was my first friend, my best friend. He's like a brother now, like the best-friend-brother."

She thoughtfully hummed. "I…I'm not good at beating around the bush," she awkwardly stated then, "I'm good, I'm the first Kunoichi of the year, but that's because my mom kept hitting me with a ladle if I didn't do my homework and with the Kage Bunshin, cramming two hours suddenly became two hundred," she blabbered on. "What I'm trying to say is that I've known Sasuke for years. I call him Uke-chan, and he doesn't even get angry about it."

Shinku remained quiet. He hoped she would make a point of sorts before the end of the visiting hours.

"I…If Sasuke had been in your place, I wouldn't have stopped looking for his body," she swallowed heavily. "I would have probably looked for him high and low and…and I didn't do that for you. I accepted your death without even…without even really trying to see if you were alive. I'm…argh," she ruffled her own head. "I'm sorry. I should have trusted in your skills, I should have believed in you," she looked down, clasping her hands together.

"I…Sasuke's still in isolation for the moment. My mother all but pulled me out of the hospital yesterday —she has this fixation that family should eat together at dinner so…" she awkwardly smiled. "I don't have any excuses," she sighed in the end. "I'm a horrible teammate. I don't know anything about you and we never talk between us. I'm always blabbering with Sasuke, filling the silence with snappish remarks because…because I'm…"

She exhaled loudly. "I'm afraid. I trusted many people when I was young. I made friends with everyone, since everyone always smiled at me or was kind. I was the stupid kid, the one you can give candy to and he'll follow you in the back alley of some seedy corner without question. When my friends had me pay for the afternoon snacks, I just thought that eventually they'd pay their share too. When we went out and some boy walked by that was the crush of a girl in the group I'd be the brave one to invite him to play with us," she gripped at the sides of her jacket.

"I know these aren't proper excuses. There's nothing I can say or do that will change the fact that I didn't believe in you…and you still came back for me, for Fu…dad actually told me you did quite the thing. Sasuke tore down his prison, but he was already chakra exhausted by the time my dad came for him… while you just went through and got us out. In the end I might know how to use the Kyuubi's chakra and Sasuke might have his Sharingan but…" she breathed in, and then she exhaled, "Out of us three…you're the better teammate."

Her hands then went to grip her knees. "You can't be friends with someone if all they do is just obeying whatever you tell them to do. You can't be. I…" she bit on her lips. "I want to be your friend. I want us to be friends, teammates, snappish-remark partners. Uke-chan's fine with making the duo a trio, he's the one who always pulls my head out of the gutter, and he'd be glad to have help…my head goes in the gutter a lot of times, you know," Naruko tried a hesitant smile.

"I…I understand if you don't want to talk to me again," she croaked out, her voice trembling. "I didn't even look for you more than once. I just assumed you had died, I didn't believe…I'm practically at fault for what happened. I…I'd understand you being angry…"

Shinku closed his eyes, before exhaling. "I'm angrier at our sensei."

Naruko waited quietly for something more.

Shinku blearily opened his eyes again, before sighing. "I don't hate you. I'm…I'm not happy. If there hadn't been an exit…I might have died of hunger after months rather than find a way out…but I'm alive, so…I can forgive."

Then his eyes narrowed, "But the next time, unless there's my body right in front of your eyes, I demand a search party."

Naruko smiled brightly. "Hai!"

Then she blinked and giggled. "You know Fu-chan's been assigned to our team for a while? We're responsible for her while she's in Konoha," she snickered. "Guess what convinced her to come to our village?"

"Tea?" he hazarded.

"Really?" Naruko blinked. "You aren't even trying, are you?"

"Bandaged man on the hospital bed…I would kill for a glass of water and something solid beneath my teeth, but I have yet to see the dinner trolley stroll by and..."

Naruko smirked, before gripping a scroll from inside her jacket and pulling it out. "Let me present you, Shin-chan, the solution to our problems."

She unrolled the scroll and then poured chakra into it. The next instant, two bowls of steaming ramen emerged. "Storage seals contain everything they seal within them at the same state of energy they were at the moment of the sealing;" Naruko said suddenly, handing over one of the ramen bowls to him while she held the other.

"A hot plate will remain hot infinitively inside a scroll until the time where it is unsealed. There will be no external reaction to that of course, so you can carry a small piece of paper and in truth end up with a large magma-moat! Isn't that awesome?"

"What…would you use a magma moat for?" he asked quietly, carefully sipping the broth —the warm soup went straight down his throat like some sort of nectar from the heavens…he was that hungry, apparently.

"Dunno," Naruko shrugged. "Maybe make a magma-proof castle."

"Isn't it called lava when it comes out form the volcano?" Shinku hazarded.

"Mmmm…mfaybe!"

Shinku ate quietly, munching slowly as he savoured the taste —he had no doubt the hospital food would taste horrible.

"Visiting hours are over," a nurse strolled in after a few minutes —when the Ramen's afterglow effect had them both calmly exhaling in peace and relief for filled stomachs. "Only one relative allowed from this moment on."

"All right then," Naruko exclaimed. "I'm off Shin-chan! Sleep and get better soon!"

Then he was alone once more.

He dropped the back of his head against the pillow, his gaze going up to the ceiling as he slowly began to hum. Shinku was alone in the hospital room they had given him —either because there weren't that many shinobi who remained for a night, or because someone had pulled some strings to leave him in peace. Anyway, he hummed a nice little lullaby to himself.

"We're not missing dinner, are we?" he whispered to the room. He received no reply. Shinku exhaled in relief. It had probably just been the stress of everything. Now that he was calmer, there really wasn't a need to scare himself over an imaginary voice in his head that no longer was there to begin with.

"Good…I'm not missing dinner," he acquiesced. No reply came forth, and so he chuckled.

Dinner was…nutritious. Cardboard-like boiled chicken and boiled peas with an undefined purée of something yellow. He would never claim the purée done with potatoes even if they menaced to kill him, because potatoes simply could not taste like shredded paper.

The dinner trolley passed again to collect the empty plates, the nurse kindly smiling at him before closing the lights and giving him the goodnight.

It was nice.

He was in a hospital bed, but still…it felt nice.

Then he closed his eyes.

Blood splattered over his face, spraying around him like a thick viscous jelly that increased. He was falling the next moment, screaming loudly as he flailed and hit the water, where his mouth filled with blood and tears. His stomach hurled as he gripped on floating corpses to stay afloat, only for the giant snake with a rotting carcass in its mouth to slither by him, making him drop the hold on the corpse.

He swallowed the crimson water to the point where he began to drown, disappearing beneath the surface as his breath came less. He flailed, the deep darkness clouding him everywhere as blood pooled into his lungs, torturing him with an agony he knew too well.

He screamed louder, and then he awoke with a startled gasp in the room.

A hand to his chest, he heard his beating heart drum loudly.

He was alone in the dark room. The window closed, the door of the corridor only slightly ajar…he was alone.

"Please…someone," he whispered with a cracked voice. It had been years since his last nightmare. "Anyone…" he pleaded.

"What?" he cracked out, "You expect someone to come out and talk to you, like everything's fine? You want to be cooed back to sleep?"

He sniffled. "It was…"

"It was a nightmare. You get used to them and you return to sleep. It's not the end of the world, they aren't real and you'd better remember it."

"Please don't go," he pleaded, even though he knew it was impossible for the voice to leave…it came from his own mouth after all.

"I'm not leaving," he retorted. "Come on, we've been on this already. Talking helps deal with the stress. We are talking to ourselves to deal with the stress."

"Where did we hear that?"

"Somewhere, it's not important anyway," he shrugged. "Now calm down, wipe away the sweat from your brows and forehead, and then gently go back to sleep. I'm not singing you a lullaby."

Shinku gripped at his bed sheets. "Do you know where my stuff is?" he whispered.

"I think the doctors will know. Probably you'll be visited tomorrow and you'll be able to ask about your belongings."

"I want to go home…" he sniffled. "I want my bed."

"I want you to sleep," he growled. "Fine, fine," he exhaled. "You want us to open the window, take in the chilly air of the night while clad in a hospital gown made to let us parade our ass to the world…and then head back home, right? The keys? Do we have the keys?"

Shinku swallowed. "We don't have the keys, do we?"

"Which is why we sleep here tonight."

"But mom and dad…"

"Do you really want to tell them that you're out of the hospital because you were scared of your own shadow? Nightmares are nothing to worry about. They can't hurt you…people can, and there aren't enemies around here. So sleep, for the love of Kami…I'll sing you a song if only you'll sleep."

"Thanks," Shinku whispered, closing his eyes.

"For what?"

"Being here."

"I'm you, I'm supposed to be here."

"Still…thanks."

Inner-Shinku took form then in Shinku's mind as the boy went back to sleep, as a black and white interline of Shinku's actual form. With the word 'inner' written on his head, he crossed his arms over his chest and exhaled from within the mind of the boy.

"Next stop, madman-land," he grumbled. Shinku peacefully hummed his agreement.

Still…he slept without worries after that, knowing there was someone there..

The next morning a hurried set of footsteps —followed by a loud string of curses— woke him up. The sun shone through the open window, as next to his bed stood a small chocolate tablet. He frowned at the sight of the chocolate —it was the same mark as the melted piece in the pocket of his jacket, if he still had the jacket.

The door of his room opened then, to allow a painstakingly breathing Naruko inside. "Shin-chan… anf…anf…run!"

"Eh?" Shinku frowned. "What is there to—"

"_NARUKO!_" a loud female voice bellowed soon after, as a red haired woman with lineaments extremely similar to Naruko entered the room next, grabbing the girl by the neck. "Really, I can't believe it, 'ttebane! I'm not a monster!" the woman then dropped Naruko on the floor, puffing her chest out and smiling smugly. "I'm the awesome Red Hot Habanero, Kushina Namikaze! Jounin of Konoha and mother to the most beautiful baby in the world!" she began to coo after that, pinching Naruko's cheek.

"Gah! Let me go!" Naruko whined, flailing her arms without effect to stave off the pinching cheeks.

"You're Haruno-kun, right?" Kushina said, her smile still etched on her face —she was tightly holding Naruko in a headlock with her right arm though, which actually made the scene sort-of creepy.

"H-Hai."

"I wanted to thank you for getting this little rascal back home," the woman said softly, a smile on her face. She looked around then, before querying. "Aren't your parents here?"

"Ah, no," he blushed lightly, embarrassedly looking sideways. "Maybe they'll come by later."

She frowned, "You've been in the hospital for two days now, 'ttebane."

"Maybe they were just swarmed with work," he hazarded. "There are a lot of festivals coming up during this time so they probably didn't even go back home."

"Still, the hospital should have contacted them."

He smiled awkwardly. "I'm sure they have their reasons."

Kushina actually refrained from saying something else that was on her mind, instead putting up her most bubbly personality.

"Well then!" she smiled, and then she bowed deeply pulling down in a bow Naruko in tow. "Thank you, for saving my daughter. We're in your debt."

Shinku blushed scarlet. He wasn't used to this.

"Ah..:Ah there's no need, I mean…"

"Nonsense," Kushina ended the bowing gesture with a light smile. "Praise is given where praise is due, Haruno-kun."

"Moooomm," Naruko whined, "My head!"

"Ops," Kushina giggled before letting go of her daughter's head —that she had pushed down for the bow. "If you need anything Haruno-kun, just let me know, 'ttebane."

Then she smiled a bit more, "I'll go and look for Mikoto-chan, so you can wait here with your teammate. Bye!"

With that, she literally made small jumps out of the room.

"Sorry," Naruko said, scratching the back of her head. "She's always like that."

"It's all right," he replied.

Naruko fidgeted for a moment, "Oh, right, you know about Kakashi-Nii?"

"Uh? What about him?"

"He's still our sensei —because dad said there was no choice in the matter— but he can't take us on missions outside of the village anymore without another Jounin! And we'll get an observer to value his teaching method!"

"An observer?"

"Yep! I don't know who though," Naruko's eyes then caught the chocolate bar on the bed desk. "Oh…chocolate! Who brought it here?"

"I don't know," Shinku muttered back, "It was there when I woke up this morning."

"Must have been a nurse then," Naruko shrugged, moving closer. Her eyes were actually sparkling. "Right, right…the doctors said —because my mother totally wouldn't let them go until they told her, even if they shouldn't have told her but your parents— that you'll be free to go by this afternoon. Isn't it great what chakra can do?"

"I suppose," he exhaled. He still felt tired, for some reason. "When…when Sasuke leaves the hospital," he hazarded, "do you want to eat something together?"

"Dattebayo! That's a promise! Oh right, I heard you can bake cakes right?"

Shinku blushed. "It…Yes."

"Oh, your parents taught you?"

He nodded, looking up to the ceiling. "I wanted to impress a girl…it didn't work."

"Oh-oh-oh," Naruko chuckled with a lecherous gaze, "And who was the lucky gal?"

"Promise not to laugh?"

"Can't do that…but I'm pretty sure it must have been cute, seeing a little kid baking a cake and covered in flour from head to toes."

Shinku gave her a bleak look. "I might be the dead-last of the Academy, but I know how to bake, thank you very much. There was no wasting flour."

"Yeah, yeah, don't change the argument…who was the girl?"

"Ami."

"Ahahah! You had a…" tears appeared in Naruko's eyes, "You had a crush on Ami? Really? That girl is a Sasuke-fan powered up to one thousand. You'd have better luck with Ino of all people! What did she say?"

"I never gave her the cake," he sighed. "Dumped it in the garbage on the way to school…I never told my parents why I wanted to bake it, but…"

"Ohi, you shouldn't waste food like that," Naruko retorted. "Next time you end up having a crush and baking a cake, hand it over if you chicken out."

"Will…do."

"When's your birthday?" Naruko asked unexpectedly then. "You told Fu-chan," she added, as if it held some sort of importance.

"It's in March," he replied. "The twenty-eight," he sighed.

"Well, mine's the Tenth of October," Naruko exclaimed. "I'm sure you know that. The festival's awesome."

"There's the festival of the Kyuubi's defeat on that day," Shinku pointed out. "I usually help out my parents at the oven, so I don't know about the festival."

"There are stalls and games and lots of things to eat! And you get to wear pretty kimono and walk around, and then there are the fireworks at the end!"

The door of his room opened once more, and Fu slid inside. She gave a cheerful hand wave towards Naruko, and then settled down on the chair on the opposite side of him. Her forehead sported a Konohagakure forehead protector, and she had applied a conspicuous dose of wax on it to make it _sparkle_.

"Guess who got her forehead protector?" she said coyly, gingerly touching it.

"Fu-chan, that's awesome 'ttebayo!" Naruko exclaimed.

Shinku blinked.

Wait. Had they become friends? _When_? _How_?

"Hehe," Fu giggled, before turning to look at Shinku in wait. There was a heartbeat of silence.

"It's a very nice forehead protector," he hazarded. Naruko face-planted against the floor, while Fu just smiled brightly, "Thanks! Did the medic say when you're getting out, Shin-kun? You've got to show me around Konoha!"

"This afternoon," he replied. "But if you want a grand tour of Konoha you should ask Naruko about it."

"Ohi," Naruko exclaimed, grumbling for a moment. "Naruko doesn't ring good. I'm Na-chan, got it? The brightest, cheer-filled and beloved kunoichi, Na-chan! You're Shin-kun, so I'm Na-chan. It helps that Uke-chan is 'Uke' so we can be Shinukena together!"

"Shinukena?" Shinku blinked, "I doubt that…has a meaning."

"It certainly does! It means a True Uke like that."

"So…we're a team of True Uke?" Shinku wearily shook his head.

"Hey, there's me too," Fu pouted. "How about Fushinukena?"

"A Building like that Uke?" Naruko shook her head strongly, placing her arms in a cross in front of her. "Nope! Not a chance!"

Fu whined. Shinku proposed another name. Naruko chuckled and shook her head.

Then, finally, Sasuke walked in sourly.

"UKE-CHAN!" Naruko all but shot her entire body out of her chair to slam into Sasuke's hugging him tightly and then proceeding to ruffle his hair. "My favourite Duck-butt is alive!"

"Dobe!" he snarled, pushing her away. "I heard your ramblings all the way from the hallway…"

"Were we that loud?" Shinku asked wearily. "I hope the doctors aren't angry at us…"

"They wouldn't be even if she," Sasuke pointed at Naruko, "Suddenly started to sing or play the guitar."

"Ohi, you trying to get something started, Uke-chan?" Naruko shot back. She looked at him apprehensively. "You're all right now, right?" she asked softly.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sasuke sighed. "I just have to accept what I did. It's…complicated. You know, people eventually forget stuff until they have to remember it but…with the sharingan it's different. The normal sharingan is one thing but the Mangekyou…I remember everything clearly. It's like…it's like it happened but a mere minute ago. With time, it will become slowly an hour, then a day, then a week but…it's frightening. No wonder Itachi-Nii was a pacifist," he shuddered.

Shinku swallowed.

"I remember their screams and their cries…I just…don't have to think about it and hopefully it will go away;" taking one deep breath, Sasuke smiled. "I heard the Yondaime came to save our asses in the end. Is our Jounin getting the axe finally?"

"Kakashi-Nii was following orders," Naruko stated awkwardly, "he received a message —sent to all Jounin— to come back to Konoha to deal with the upcoming situation of the Chuunin exams. He planned for us to come back later at our leisure to 'toughen us up'. He didn't think there was an enemy group of missing-nin inside the village."

"Right," Sasuke's eyes turned to Shinku. "I have to ask…the entrance was on the ground, and I'm pretty sure it was guarded…how did you get in?"

"I climbed the tree," Shinku replied.

"You climbed the tree?" Fu blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah…" he nodded. "I hoped there was an opening in the branches, and that's how I got in."

"Climbing Takigakure's inner tree is one of the ways of becoming Genin in Taki," Fu said then. "That means you can apply to become a Taki-Genin if you want to!"

"Hey! No trying to recruit Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed while Sasuke sat down on the nearby bed. "He's a Konoha shinobi!"

"I can't believe they only gave a slap to the wrist to Kakashi," Sasuke growled. "He left us alone! He's supposed to be in charge of protecting us."

"Kakashi-Nii's the son of the white fang," Naruko replied. "It's a bit of a hush-hush because he's really strong as a shinobi, so he can't just be laid back from the force. He's also sorry, I'm sure of it. He just has his own way of showing it."

"If you say so," Sasuke grumbled. "Still, can't we get another Jounin?"

"He's also the only one with knowledge of seals and sharingan that could help us," Naruko grimaced. "At least, that's what my father told me."

"Sharingan? How could he help me? I've got the…" and then Sasuke blanched. "The Mangekyou. He has the Mangekyou…he…he has it."

"My dad didn't say that," Naruko shot back, "But it's possible."

"So that's why he's unhinged," Sasuke snarled. "Really…"

The light of the sun shone through the open window, as the four Genin talked to one another for a couple of minutes more.

Kakashi flipped the page of his Icha-Icha, before boringly gazing at his 'observer'.

"What are you doing?"

Yugao stared back at him. "Preparing," she flipped another page of her own book 'Team-Rearing and Child-Rearing, a guide to newly minted Jounin-sensei'.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to stick to Anbu for much longer," she retorted. "I wouldn't have volunteered otherwise."

"You're mad," Kakashi grumbled. "Jounin-sensei is a lot of work…Anbu is easier."

"I will see your method of teaching then," Yugao retorted. "Shouldn't you go down there and make your excuses?"

"Why?" Kakashi asked. "I already did."

"To the Hokage, yes…you haven't done them to your team and here it says that a 'Jounin-sensei should know when he is wrong and admit it, in order to show the proper way to his students'."

"I'll do that tomorrow," Kakashi shrugged. "We'll be doing a…D-rank, after all." Kakashi shuddered. "A D-rank with Gai," the silver-haired man trembled. "Why? Why of all the things…"

"You reap what you sow, Hatake-san."

To those words, Kakashi did not reply.

**Author's notes**

**Fluffy happiness everywhere. People are nice, they are kind…the world is filled with happy people…**

**And frankly, there's nepotism at work.**


	28. The True Punishment is Humiliation

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The hospital discharged him at three in the afternoon. The moment he stepped outside, wearing the same clothes he had gone inside the hospital with —albeit cleaned of the blood and mended where the cloth had torn— he was already trying to get back inside.

"So, Shin-chan," Naruko said —albeit holding up a casual tone of voice as she spoke. "I was wondering," she looked towards Sasuke, who nodded back. "How about we head over to your place?"

"But I promised I'd take Fu-san on a tour of Konoha," he replied.

Fu nodded eagerly.

"Well, that's all right then —you aren't already trying to skive off your promise of cake, right?"

He made a strained smile. "That will take time…I can always bring one after—"

"Nu-uh!" Naruko pouted, shaking her head firmly. "I want a freshly baked cake now! Like, you have to take responsibility!"

Sasuke slammed a fist on the back of Naruko's head. "You were just dying to use that reference, weren't you, Dobe?"

"Tee-he-he," she stuck her tongue out, "I never managed with Uke-chan before."

"Oh, I want a cake too!" Fu remarked, clapping her hands happily. "Shin-kun bakes? I want to try Shin-kun's cake too then!" she fidgeted slightly, pulling one leg behind the other and holding her hands on the back, stretching to put her chest forward while placing her face sideways and glancing shyly to the side. "I never had cake before, pretty please?" she fluttered her eyes then.

Shinku stared, speechless.

"Ohi," Naruko frowned, "That's going too far," she waved her fist at Fu. "He's going to realize that you're acting if you do something like that!"

"Acting?" he asked then, only to frown as Sasuke gripped him by the shoulders and started to push him along the street.

"Nothing at all! Why don't we go to your house and start baking? We don't want to be late, right?"

"Late for what?"

"The oven's timer, I'm sure it's already running!"

"But it can't—"

Shinku stopped trying to reason with the clearly mad people he had the disgrace of having as…_friends_, and began to move forward of his own accord. He opened the door of his house and let them in —heck, even Hibachi hadn't been inside his house, and they had been 'desk mates'.

He awkwardly shifted towards the kitchen, hastily removing the scribbled notes.

As always, the story they spoke of was clear as the day.

_Remember to warn when you go out on a mission! I left you some food in the fridge._

He crumbled the note and dropped it in the bin, before opening the cupboards one after the other. Flour, eggs and everything else he needed came out and laid neatly on the table by the time he realized only Sasuke had stayed in the kitchen.

"I'll oversee things here," he remarked dryly. "Also known as the 'I will keep Naruko out of the kitchen at the cost of my life' pledge." He tapped his chest then, a knowing nod on his face.

"Ah…well," shrugging, Shinku began to crack the eggs in the flour. "It will be ready in a few hours, you know? I mean…you don't have to keep Naruko out...I doubt she'd be able to do much damage."

Sasuke shrugged, as if the thing didn't bother him in the slightest.

"I've been thinking," Sasuke said dryly, "that there was something wrong for a while," he acquiesced. "I didn't know what it was, but there had to be something."

"Uh?" Shinku blinked. "I don't understand."

"You see, I think you're just hurting yourself."

"What?"

"I told you that if you had any problems, you could talk it over with us?"

"What are you talking about?" Shinku asked warily. "What is it this time?" he added, with a light smile on his lips. "Is this like that time with the food problem? Because I'm pretty sure there isn't anything wrong with me now."

"If that's true, then why didn't you subject yourself to the Yamanaka mind search?"

Shinku stuttered.

"You know _that_? Where's the patient-doctor confidentiality!?"

"You know, Naruko may look stupid but…out of us two, she's got the keener eyes for certain things," Sasuke continued. "And when we add in everything else…" the Uchiha took a deep breath.

"Are your parents abusing you?"

Shinku nearly slammed his head against the table.

"_WHAT_!?" he stared, wide-eyed, at his teammate.

"Are you out of your mind!?" he added. "No!" he vehemently shook his head. "What the hell is wrong with you!? I mean, come on! I'm not a problem-child! I don't have any problems! I…what the hell, really!?"

Sasuke awkwardly looked sideways.

"Where did the other two go?" Shinku asked, narrowing his eyes. "Sasuke, you better tell me or I swear I will…do something you won't like."

"They went to look for proofs," Sasuke said, holding his hands up. "I know, I know it might seem like defending them is the right thing to do —they're your parents, after all— but abuse is not right. It never is. You should not…"

Shinku snorted, before chuckling.

Really?

That was what they believed?

"Fine," Shinku sighed. "I'll return to baking the cake. If you don't eat it though, I'll make sure the next one has a special something known as laxative."

He continued to work in quiet silence. So…talking with the Yamanaka was a no-way then, if Sasuke could know about what they said between them, then…

_**You can trust me.**_

_I know, I know._

Humming to himself, Shinku whistled as he cleaned the table. It hadn't even taken him much time, and once the oven was warm enough —which was soon— he'd plop the cake in the oven and everything would be fine.

Really…had he added the sugar to begin with?

_**Yes, we did.**_

_Good._

The kitchen clean, he went towards the fridge. "Want something to drink? I think there's juice in the fridge…"

"Water," Sasuke remarked in a soft murmur. "And…well, I'm sorry about this, but Naruko couldn't help it," Shinku just hummed.

"She roped me and Fu in," the Uchiha added, slightly ashamed. "She did bring good arguments though: why weren't your parents there?"

"They didn't know I was in the hospital," Shinku replied calmly. "It's not that difficult."

"But _why_?" Sasuke pressed on.

"Let's say the hospital calls the Haruno household, to tell them their son is in the hospital," he states plainly. "My parents stop working at ten in the night, they come back home at ten thirty, and wake up at four in the morning before leaving once more —with my father waking up sometimes at three o'clock depending on the amount of orders," slowly, Shinku poured the water in the glasses.

"So the hospital phones at noon, which is the lunch hour. They phone at dinner time too, and then they phone in the morning at seven…but there's no one in the house at those times," he smiled bitterly. "So, as you can see, my parents couldn't know. They thought I simply was out doing a mission when I didn't reply to one of their messages on the table, and thus there's nothing else to add."

"Ah," awkwardly, Sasuke shifted on his feet.

"Ah indeed," Shinku replied calmly. "I appreciate the sentiment," he stated, with his voice barely a murmur, "but it was unneeded and uncalled for."

"You're part of team," Sasuke retorted. "You showed it by saving the Dobe, and now that she accepts that…you really have no idea, right?"

"No idea on what?" Shinku asked, raising his right eyebrow.

"Naruko has a very simple way of reasoning…you're either her friend or you aren't. There isn't a 'I know that guy' or 'I'm friendly with him but I don't consider him a friend' thing. Either you are her friend or you aren't. And by 'friend' I mean that if she had to take a kunai for you, or pluck her eyes out to get you out of a bind…she _would_." Sasuke stressed out.

"That's what I'm talking about. If, let's say…I went on a rampage and burned down Konoha, killing hundreds…she would stop me, tie me up, and then make sure I got the lightest possible sentence or even the full pardon, before repeatedly trying to get out the reason I did it. Then she'd try to make me change. That's what I'm talking about," Sasuke grabbed the glass offered and drank it.

"So she _thought_ I was abused at home and decided to investigate the matter?"

"No, she actually thought we needed to work on your meek and shy attitude, and then when she realized your parents hadn't even come to visit you once in two days she became _incensed_ over it. Let's just say…I might have added fuel to the fire by suggesting a possible reason?"

"Really," Shinku deadpanned. "Abused of all things, _really?_"

"I spent most of my childhood reading police reports," Sasuke retorted. "I mean, the skinny look and the meekness all pointed to that. When you started to hesitate on bringing us here you just worsened the situation."

"There was the off-chance they were at home," Shinku muttered. "I…I don't know why I thought that —I should know better than to think it but…"

"Why?" this time, it was Sasuke's turn to be perplexed about something, which was a refreshing change, for once.

"Because I didn't tell them who I was in the team with," he acquiesced. "I just told them the number of the team, and nothing more."

"Why not?"

"Because then I would have to admit I was the dead last of the class to them," he chuckled grimly. "The only thing I didn't want to be and ended up being," shaking his head, he gripped on the sides of the table. "I don't envy you, or Naruko, for what you are or what you can do…I don't care if tomorrow you'll tell me you can shoot explosive tags out of your eyes or Naruko starts going faster than the light…but at least, I want my normal, average life. I want my chuunin flak jacket, and I want my boring desk job somewhere in the middle of the Hokage tower or in the library. There are people who are born to become legends, and then there are the guys like me…who are born to be average, to be the thousands of thousands…"

He sighed. "I'm not special, and I'm fine like that. I don't have a tragic past or a secret skill…so, please, next time Naruko puts her head in the gutter…take it out."

Sasuke breathed in deeply once, before nodding. "Yeah, I suppose I should have done that, rather than give in to her insistence. Best we go and stop them then…I don't know what they'd do if left unattended for too long."

Shinku chuckled. "Probably burn down the house."

Then he paled. "They wouldn't…"

"I hope not," Sasuke snorted as they hurried out of the kitchen.

They didn't have to go far. The two girls hadn't gone further than a single room ahead, and they were holding in their hands…

"Oh no," Shinku turned white as a bone. "No, no, no, not that…"

The photo album.

"Look! How cute!" Fu giggled. "He's pouting…awww…and here he's playing with the rubber ball…coochie coochie coo…"

Shinku shuddered, his face turning red as Naruko giggled next.

"Shin-chan was so adorable when young! Look at him! Just…look! Here he's got a spoon in his mouth…look at how chubby he was…muuuhhh why couldn't he keep those puffy cheeks?"

"I'm going to die now," Shinku stated plainly.

Sasuke snorted. "Welcome to the club…she," he pointed at Naruko, "asked my mother about my own photo album after her mother showed me hers…" he shuddered. "I'll bring you hers one day —what's fair is fair after all."

Naruko's ears perked up, and she slammed the photo album to a close sharply. "UH! Oh…well, we were just goofing around!" she sniffed the air, "Oh! I can smell cake!"

"Yes," Shinku drawled out. "You don't get any however," he added calmly, "Unless you put that thing back where it belongs."

Ashamed, Naruko quickly did so. "So!" she clapped her hands, "Any table games we can play while waiting?"

"I should have a deck of cards somewhere," Shinku replied.

There was a knock at the door after half an hour, which Shinku ended up getting because he lost the poker hand —like everyone else, since Naruko kept on winning at the first hand. He understood 'being lucky' and 'cheating' but always having the royal flush?

That was borderline impossible.

He opened the door to stare blearily at his sensei's smiling face. "Hi!" he waved his hand, "I heard there's cake."

Next to him was a woman wearing a long black suit with another flak jacket —albeit of a darker colour than Kakashi's. "She's my observer," he added then, "She'd like some cake too."

"Hatake-san, this is improper behaviour."

"It's…all right;" Shinku said, letting them both in and closing the door behind them.

"Kakashi-Nii!" Naruko exclaimed, gazing up as the Jounin entered the —now starting to get small for Shinku's tastes— living room. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted some cake," Kakashi shrugged. "And I wanted to tell you we have a mission tomorrow. A _beautiful_ D-rank joint mission with a man known as Maito Gai," he smiled brightly. "One which you could do with your eyes closed and without any need of my superior teaching skills, but which I will unfortunately have to participate in…"

"Who's the woman?" Naruko asked suddenly, narrowing her eyes towards the purple-haired kunoichi next to Kakashi. "You finally found a girlfriend who isn't put off by your porn-reading?"

"I am Uzuki Yugao," the woman said crisply, presenting herself. "I will be Hatake-san's observer and supporting teacher, as per the Hokage's orders."

"Aren't you glad?" Kakashi eye-smiled, "Our team is growing up! We have Fu-chan and now even Yu-cha—" a katana's blade came an inch away from Kakashi's neck.

"Hatake-san, please refer to me with a proper name. I am Yugao-sensei to the students and Uzuki-san to you."

"Mah, mah, of course," Kakashi replied, slowly pushing the blade away from his neck with his two fingers.

The katana disappeared in a flash back into its sheathe on the back of the woman, who then politely turned to gaze at Shinku.

"Do you need a hand with bringing the plates over, Haruno-kun?"

Shinku blinked. "Ah, no, no…I've got everything handled."

He moved towards the kitchen, getting down on one knee to check the cake in the oven. If someone had told him he'd have as guests two Jounin, the two 'stars' of the class and a foreign kunoichi who also was a Jinchuuriki…he'd have run away from the clearly mad person.

Furthermore, his teammates actually worried about him. In a whacky way of course, but they did worry.

"Still a few minutes," he muttered, before opening the oven to pluck holes in the cake. It still had a little to go…he closed the oven and returned in the living room.

"The D-rank is actually out of Konoha? Really?" Naruko groaned. "Why? D-ranks are never out of Konoha!"

"No, they are generally not out of Konoha, but this is a high-pay D-rank, which requires two teams of shinobi," Kakashi hummed. "Think about what you'll be spending the money on."

"How much?" Sasuke retorted. "We are a six-man team, by the look of things," Sasuke looked around. "If your friend's team is in there too…then we're a ten man unit. What is there that needs three Jounin and seven Genin?"

"Construction work!" Kakashi was actually clapping his hands —it made everyone uncomfortable. "Simply construction work with the most sparkling bright green individual ever to exist, who will challenge you hour after hour to stupid senseless duels on just about anything you can imagine," Kakashi then growled —which actually eased everyone.

"The mission Hatake-san refuses to explain more keenly," Yugao said then, "Is a mere delivery of extra construction materials that the land of waves paid for in advance and could not transport. The sealing scrolls have already been prepared, and we will depart tomorrow."

Shinku would have liked to point out that he hadn't been in Konoha for a full day yet —barring being in a coma or in the hospital. He would have, if Naruko hadn't done so first.

"Hey! What about Shin-chan and Uke-chan!? Don't they get some downtime too!?"

"It is unfortunate," Yugao acquiesced, "Which is why I hope they will enjoy today to its fullest."

"Furthermore we aren't just 'us'," Kakashi brightly added, "No, that would still be fine if a bit of overkill…there's yet one more team! One who was originally sent there to protect the place from bandit attacks."

His eye turned murderous.

"It will be four Jounin and ten Genin…four Jounin of which two are Ex-Anbu and ten Genin of which two are Jinchuuriki. It will be complete, utter, total waste of shinobi forces in a single area as if it were a powder keg ready to explode and…"

Kakashi clapped his hands, "Nothing of strange is supposed to happen at all! Sensei just loves to punish me like this, right? He," Kakashi chuckled, scaring everyone else around him —he did appear to have snapped— "He has a great sense of humour, doesn't he?"

"So…we're going on an outright cakewalk mission?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Yes," Kakashi exhaled finally. "One where I would simply sleep from morning until night, but where I won't because I'll be under scrutiny…meaning I will have to do something…meaning I will have to work at the construction…meaning I…argh…I'll just cry a bit more…" Kakashi hung his head. "When's the cake coming?"

"Kakashi-Nii," Naruko said softly, bringing a hand up to 'tap' gently on the back of his right hand. Her eyes sparkled lightly in understanding as she gazed at him, before saying abruptly.

"You deserved to have your porn burned and buried," she smiled brightly, even cheerfully as if nothing was wrong, "Which is why I told my mom where you hid your stash."

Kakashi emitted froth from his mouth and fell face first on the table with a loud thunk.

Yugao turned her head sharply towards Shinku, before stating plainly.

"I think the cake is ready to be served."

Shinku warily nodded. "Yes…I think so too."

Naruko just flashed him a smile, an innocent little smile that simply told him that, no matter the circumstances, he was not to have any porn in his house _ever_.

Because it would be used as a hostage of war…and executed depending on circumstances.

Still, the D-rank…D-ranks were naturally easy, with a maximum pay of fifty-thousand ryos.

They were going as a three Jounin and seven Genin team. The pay would be of Five thousand ryos each. With five thousand ryos…he could…

Really, was that 'high pay'? How was he even going to reimburse the cost of his lost equipment, if that was the pay-out?

Thankfully, the hospital had given him back _everything_ he had on him at the moment of entering. Meaning…

_**Yes**_.

He now had a Jounin-rank flak jacket staying comfortably in a plastic bag in the corner of his kitchen.

There was no way he would separate from that life-saviour of his —busted or not, in shreds or not— it was his, and he was going to wear that jacket no matter what, even on a D-rank.

He had a bad feeling after all.

**Author's notes**

**Someone said…Wave.**

**I say…**

**It won't be Wave.**

**Remember, if Obito died actually…nobody controls Yagura.**

**No bloodline purges.**

…**damn, I made a simple change (Obito is dead), I didn't expect my 'logic' to reach certain conclusions.**

**By the way…**

**You know Kishi could have avoided the entire final arch?**

**Obito goes with Rinnegan to Edo-Tensei Rin. He brings Rin back to life.**

**End of story.**

**No need for infinite Tsukuyomi.**


	29. Everything Starts Going Down Eventually

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"YOSH. YOSH. YOSH!"

Shinku had been sleepy. He had been. The extreme screaming of a man wearing a green spandex suit however had woken him up completely in the span of a few minutes. For self-defence purposes, he had actually taken a few steps back to hide behind Sasuke's body.

The green was blinding, when mixed with the shining sun up in the sky. They were standing at the gates of Konoha, him, Sasuke and Naruko. Uzuki-sensei and Fu-san had both gone to 'catch' a 'tardy' 'sensei'. His mind actually placed the air-marks of its own…and he hid a bit more to avoid eye contact with the strange green-things.

"Yosh! Sensei! This must be your hip rival's team!" a bushy-browed boy wearing another green spandex suit screamed, before the kunoichi of their team groaned.

"Lee! Stop yelling! What first impression are you going to make if you talk like that?"

The other boy —a Hyuga judging by the eyes— grimaced and looked sideways, his arms crossed in front of his chest. There was a moment of silence, just a heartbeat, before Shinku found himself stared at.

"Why do you have a flak jacket on?" it was the girl who asked the question first. She had her hair tied in buns and was wearing a pink dress with navy blue shorts.

"Safety," he replied curtly, staying behind Sasuke who appeared amused.

"We told him it was going to be all right," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He actually refused to leave without it on."

"That just makes you a bigger target, Shin-chan," Naruko mumbled, "But no…he had to grow a spine on something like this. We're letting him keep it —if it helps him, why not?"

"I'm not taking it off," Shinku grumbled. "You get your own jacket."

Naruko sputtered. "I don't want yours! It's half-broken anyway!"

"I saw you trying it on," Sasuke snorted, "really, Dobe."

"T-That was just because it looked kind-of cool!"

"It isn't against regulations?" the Hyuga asked his sensei, who smiled brightly.

"Of course not! Shinobi of the past wore armour to protect themselves! If he can withstand its weight and not slow down with it, he can carry it! I'm proud to see that the fires of youth burn brightly in another student, who wishes to challenge himself with such a burden!"

"YOSH! Sensei! We should present ourselves!"

"Lee! You're right!"

Flashing another blinding smile —Shinku was starting to believe it was some sort of technique— the man went first.

"I am Konoha's MIGHTY GREEN BEAST MAITO GAI, YOSH!"

"YOSH! I am Rock Lee!"

Tenten dropped her head beneath her shoulders. "I'm Tenten…unfortunately; I'm in the team with these two."

"My name is Neji," the Hyuga said crisply. "You already understood my surname if you looked at me in the eyes."

Naruko gave the boy a dirty look, before huffing and putting her chest up.

"You already know my name and surname if you walk along the streets for more than a minute," she mock-said with a shrill voice, "But I'll do you a favour and present myself! I am the awesome kunoichi Naruko Uzumaki, future Hokage!"

Sasuke slammed a fist against the girl's head. "And dobe extraordinaire," he added calmly.

"I think that actually hurt her," Shinku muttered.

"Sorry," Sasuke added hastily.

"Muuh…it's all right," Naruko rubbed her head gently, before gazing back at Neji with something akin to 'I don't like you, and I am going to make your life hell as soon as possible'.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said, "I'm in charge of keeping the level of Dobe-ness to a minimum."

There was a heartbeat of silence.

"I'm Shinku," Shinku said then lamely.

There was another awkward moment of quiet.

"Where's my hip and cool rival?" Gai asked to defuse the awkwardness, looking around vividly.

"He's late," Naruko pouted. "So we sent Yugao-sensei and Fu-chan to get him."

Tenten frowned. "You're a six man team?"

"Yep!" Naruko smiled. "We're awesome like that."

"Or maybe you just need more babysitters," Neji replied curtly.

"Ohi! You want to start something," Naruko snarled waving her fist in front of her. "I can totally start something if you want me to."

"Yosh!" Maito Gai exclaimed, "Enough with this uncool attitude! You are all shinobi of Konoha! Be friendly! Burn with the fires of youth!" then he flashed a smile as a sunset formed behind him.

"Gai-sensei!" Rock Lee had tears in his eyes, "That was awesome!"

"ROCK LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Then the two hugged, and Shinku aptly brought his hands to his ears to _**kill**_ out the sound of spandex rubbing against spandex.

"Note to self," Sasuke stated plainly. "Never activate sharingan with those near. Never. Ever. _Ever_."

"Uke-chan," Naruko whined. "Hit me, please…I want to forget…"

"Can I have a fist too?" Shinku muttered in disbelief, "Or maybe some bleach…"

Sasuke snorted, and shook his head. Five minutes later, Kakashi appeared with a bleak look and ruffled hair —as if he had just woken up.

"YOSH! MY HIP AND COOL RIVAL!"

"You said…something?" Kakashi snapped back, before taking out his Icha-Icha. "Students, onwards to the land of waves…last team to arrive sets camp."

"YOSH! Such is my rival's fire of youth! Then this is a challenge! _COME, MY GENIN! WE SHALL ARRIVE FIRST!_" Shinku winced at the sheer noise, before Rock Lee retorted.

"YOSH! SENSEI!"

And with that, the two began to run forward without waiting an instant. Fu and Yugao blearily looked at the dust clouds settle over at the horizon —as the two were already long gone.

"Now we can have our own trip in peace," Kakashi muttered.

Tenten looked at Kakashi with awe.

Neji actually exhaled in relief.

"Onwards now!" Kakashi cheerfully said, "Towards our cake-walk easy-peasy mission of boring delivery!"

Then he began to walk at the slowest pace conceivable for a Jounin.

"Hatake-san," Yugao remarked dryly, "Stop acting like a child."

Kakashi sulkily took the front of the formation, while Yugao took the rear. Naruko stood just behind Kakashi with Tenten, while Sasuke and Neji were side by side in the middle and Shinku was just next to Fu.

They had a leisurely pace, albeit quite faster than the snail walking Kakashi had attempted to use. The peace and quiet during the travel lasted for approximately less than an hour, before Fu began to talk.

"It's exciting, isn't it?" she said brightly, turning to look at Shinku. "We're going out on a mission, all of us!"

"It isn't actually a picnic," Sasuke remarked from ahead, "We are on a D-rank mission."

"Indeed," Yugao acquiesced.

"Why is all of this manpower needed to deliver materials? How much do we need to guard the scroll anyway? A single courier-nin could have done the delivery," Tenten stated.

"We are also to help protect the bridge until it is built," Yugao affirmed. "As well as cooperate in the construction effort."

"Glorified builders," Sasuke muttered darkly, "And that's because our sensei is incapable of teaching."

"You said something?" Kakashi asked, his single eye boring a hole into Sasuke's own gaze. The boy actually looked sideways after a while. "Thought so," and then he returned to his book.

"Still," Fu exclaimed, before gripping on to Shinku's arm, "It's exciting, seeing new places."

Shinku warily smiled. He rather preferred keeping to the good and old places that while boring, at least were safe.

"I have a question for you," Neji said suddenly, turning his head towards Shinku. "Do you think wearing a flak jacket will make you stronger? As the dead last of the class, what you wear is inconsequential to your ability. It is your destiny to fail after all."

"Neji!" Tenten exclaimed, "That's rude!"

Naruko growled slightly, "Ohi, you picking a fight with Shin-chan? He's going to kick your butt all the way to Konoha, you know?"

"The Dead-last?" Neji chuckled. "It is a nice joke, Namikaze-san."

"I wouldn't think so lowly of him if I were you," Sasuke retorted calmly. "You might be surprised."

"I will be surprised if this mission will end without accidents. Accidents the dead-last will cause."

Naruko stopped walking. Sasuke's eyes widened for a fraction, before the girl's hand went to clutch at Neji's shirt while showing her teeth. "You apologize to Shin-chan now," she growled.

"Naruko, stand down," Kakashi said crisply.

"Naruko, it's all right;" Shinku exclaimed. "Really…it's fine," he shrugged. "He isn't wrong."

"Bullshit!" Naruko snapped back. "You're lucky, Hyuga," she hissed then, letting go of Neji. "But I'm sparring with you once we get there, and I'll take that stick you have up your ass and beat you with it so much you'll go crying back to your mother by the time I'll be done with you."

Then she spat to the side and began to furiously march forward.

"Neji, really?" Tenten grumbled, before turning to gaze at Shinku. She bowed lightly. "I'm sorry for him."

"There's…no need," Shinku waved a hand in dismissal. "He didn't say anything that wasn't true…"

It didn't matter if it hurt or not, it was the truth. He was the dead last of his class. Even if he had, by a string of lucky events, saved his teammates…in the end he wasn't hero material. He was fine with it.

"That's what troubling with you," Sasuke grumbled, grabbing a hold of Shinku and starting to walk further ahead. "Then you wonder why Naruko think you're abused," he whispered hastily as they moved forth breaking formation to reach Naruko. "Have some self-esteem!"

"B-But!"

"No buts," Sasuke quipped back. "I understand not being arrogant about your achievements, but there's nothing bad with taking pride in what you did!"

They were now leaving behind the group —as Kakashi hadn't even increased his pace— but Yugao and Fu instead had.

Naruko had stopped to catch her breath a few meters ahead, and once she saw the two of them arrive, she _sniffled_. Shinku had to hold on to his disbelief, because the next thing he knew, Naruko flung a punch at his stomach.

"Baka-Shinku!"

"Gah!"

"Ohi!" Sasuke exclaimed, "Pipe down."

"You can't let people walk over you like that!" Naruko yelled, "You need to stand your ground, you Baka!"

Then she turned to Sasuke. "You're the Teme, and he's the Baka. Now we've got the insults down," Naruko nodded to herself, and then began to fuss over Shinku —who was kneeling on the ground holding his stomach.

"Hey! I didn't hurt you that much, right? I didn't really mean it, you know? It's just…argh! It makes me mad when people don't defend themselves."

Shinku swallowed his nervousness as he hastily smiled and slowly wobbled back on his feet. "It's…all right," he acquiesced. "I didn't feel a thing thanks to the flak jacket," he made a strained smile.

"Then why did you double over?" Naruko pressed on.

"Nothing important," he shrugged. "Let's just get moving or we won't reach the Land of Waves ever."

"Indeed," Yugao said sternly, before moving closer and dusting off the sides of Shinku's flak jacket —holding an extremely serious face as she did that, before evening the shoulder pads to boot. "And remember, armour is an important piece of equipment that must be thoroughly checked for imperfections."

"Understood, Uzuki-sensei," Shinku replied.

"Good, have a chocolate chip," the moment the chocolate chip ended up in his hands, three pairs of eyes —albeit Sasuke will forever refuse to admit it— looked at the delicacy. Shinku felt surrounded by sharks.

Exhaling, he swallowed the chip before taking out the chocolate bar —the melted one still in his pocket, still bringing him luck.

The chocolate 'party' was over in the next five minutes.

Then, they proceeded at a steady pace towards their destination.

The Land of Waves smelled of rotten fishes and salt. The acrid and pungent smell reached Shinku's nostrils for the first time, making him wince and nearly gag. An angler's boat carried them over quickly, bringing them directly at the piers overlooking a giant bridge —where a Kirigakure shinobi stood in wait with a frown on his face.

"Konoha sent another batch of kittens and puppies," the man drawled out. His face covered by a white bandage, and a giant sword strapped to his back, his spiky black hair dully moved due to the breeze.

"Hello there," Kakashi said cheerfully. "We weren't told about a Kirigakure team in the area."

"We were paid to make sure the bridge was built," the man shrugged.

"They must have paid quite the hefty prize, for one of the swordsmen of the mist to be here."

"One?" the man chuckled raucously. "You mean _four_."

Kakashi just hummed. "Do you know where the Konoha team here is, Zabuza-san?"

"Depends," he replied thoughtfully, "What is your mission about, Konoha-Nin?"

"Only to ensure the bridge is built, I assure you," Kakashi kept up his carefree tone, even though the silence around the two shinobi was dreadful.

_**I would throw that piece of chocolate away, Shinku.**_

_I'm inclined to agree. Someone HAS to be bringing misfortune._

"Then we won't have a problem," 'Zabuza' shrugged. "Welcome to Wave…where the food tastes like rotten fish, the sake tastes like rotten fish, and the only thing that doesn't taste like rotten fish is rotten fish covered in enough salt to make it taste like salt."

Then the Kirigakure Jounin turned and left without a worry.

Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Where is Gai-san?" Yugao asked then wearily. "Wasn't he supposed to be already here?"

"He must be challenging himself by trying to run across the water's surface…without using chakra," Kakashi remarked. "He'll probably drowned…hopefully."

Kakashi then sighed in relief. "A man can dream…"

They then reached the village near the bridge itself, and Shinku carefully brought a hand to his kunai pouch. It was rundown, in a word. There were beggars, people eying from the dirty alleyways with gleaming eyes their group and so much grime and filth around the streets that he felt as if he had mistakenly ended up in the night district of Otafuku Gai during the day.

Not that he had ever been in Otafuku Gai.

Not that he would ever go there to begin with.

"Uhm, uhm, uhm…Tazuna-san's house…" Kakashi hummed, walking boringly through yet another street, before stopping short of a shop. "Oh."

In that moment, a Konohagakure Genin walked out.

Shinku cocked his head to the side.

The Konohagakure Genin did the same.

"Shinku?"

"Hibachi?"

So…

It was Hibachi's team?

Well, it wasn't bad then. Hibachi was…giving him a _murderous_ look.

He couldn't ask about that, because the next moment Kakashi took the cue.

"You're with Team four, right?"

"Hai," Hibachi replied. "You're the relief team? Sensei said we were going to get some more materials for the bridge from a team…"

"Indeed," Kakashi smiled. "I gave the scrolls to Maito Gai —he was all too happy to be entrusted with the responsibility of carrying them!"

Putting his thumb up and eye-smiling, Kakashi shrugged. "Until he arrives…"

"You did that on purpose," Yugao hissed suddenly. "You knew he would be side tracked."

"Who? Me?" Kakashi mock-pouted, "I would never!" he brought his hands to his chest.

"Why…you…" Yugao gripped at the handle of her katana.

"Bring us to your sensei on the double," Kakashi said crisply, eying Hibachi. "Understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir."

And with that, they headed off.

_**I would have thrown the chocolate away already.**_

_If it turns badly, then I will._

That much, Shinku promised to himself…

He chuckled then. He had a promise to _himself_.

**Author's notes**

**This. Is. Not. A. Wave. Mission.**

**(This is not a pipe-painting)**


	30. In The End, It Doesn't Really Matter

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty

The Jounin-sensei of team Four was a plain looking woman with brown hair and a stiff face. Her dull brown eyes moved from Kakashi to Yugao, before settling on both Naruko and Sasuke —completely gliding over Fu or Shinku, for what it mattered.

She did give a hesitant smile towards Neji, but ignored Tenten wholeheartedly.

"The Sharingan Kakashi? In this meagre D-rank mission?" the woman said with a nasal tone, "How low have the mighty fallen?"

Kakashi grumbled, but said nothing.

Tazuna's daughter smiled awkwardly, before saying. "Would anyone like some tea?"

"We are sorry to intrude in such numbers," Yugao stiffly bowed. "We'll camp outside."

"What's the situation here?" Kakashi asked.

"Ahem," Yugao coughed. "The Genin shouldn't be within earshot of sensible information that might unnecessary stress them."

"Right, right," the Jounin-sensei of team four smiled, amused at seeing Kakashi's face crumble after the remark into a distressed grimace. "Hibachi? Can you bring the other teams to the bridge where Ami and Kota are?"

Hibachi nodded, a light grimace spreading on his face.

"Follow me then," as he turned to leave, Kakashi's voice exclaimed then.

"Shinku, you stay behind."

Shinku's eyes widened briefly.

"Hatake-san, this—"

"You're an observer Uzuki-san," Kakashi stressed out. "The final word is mine," he added, his eyes turning to the rest of the Genin that had stopped. "You lot, out."

"Kakashi-Nii…"

"It's Kakashi-sensei, and now out."

Sasuke warily gave Shinku one last look of worry, before pushing outside Naruko before she could make a scene.

"What's so special about the little Chuunin here?" the Jounin-sensei of Team Four remarked dryly.

"He's a Genin," Kakashi dryly quipped. "He just scavenged the armour off a corpse," humming lightly, Kakashi then took out his Icha-Icha book. "He's already bloodied, so I'm pretty sure he can deal with whatever stress there is and, in case neither of us is present, he'll be able to relay the necessary information to the rest of his team."

Shinku awkwardly gazed at the table. Was it that strange if he wore a flak jacket? Why would they give armour to the Jounin —who didn't really need it with all the skills and techniques they had— when Genin actually risked their lives more?

"Very well, it's your student after all…" the woman shrugged. "The situation is as follows," she took a sip of tea that Tazuna's daughter gently offered, before continuing.

"The Gato Corporation is a commercial ship line society guided by, as the name implies, a man named Gato, who earns most of his money through both intimidation and underground work. They're organize crime, and they're not afraid of killing people. We are to protect Tazuna-san as he finishes building the bridge, and Wave paid for the D-rank in question…and then Gato footed the bill for the rest of the operation to build the bridge."

"It's blood money," Tsunami said suddenly, "It's the money of the land of waves that he acquired but…but he's helping us complete the bridge."

"Then the Kirigakure shinobi came —Gato paid them a lot, or he has a deal with Kirigakure or something. All I know is that from one day to another, I found myself staring in the eyes of four swordsmen of the mist and three chuunin," the woman shuddered. "I didn't sign up for this crap, but they aren't interested in attacking us so the mission still holds."

"They're actually safeguarding the bridge, then?" Yugao asked, "Are you sure they aren't planning something?"

"No," the woman shook her head. "I might not have a fancy eye or fancy anbu skills, but I know how to recognize explosive and the bridge's safe and solid. They even act cordially, the lot of them —which gives me the creeps, by the way," she shuddered.

"So what's the problem?" Kakashi asked, flipping boringly another page from his Icha-Icha.

"If they want to pull a fast one," the Jounin replied, "They'll pull it on the day the bridge is completed or nearly completed. I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about it."

"The bridge is Wave's only chance of surviving," Tsunami said with a pleading voice. "If Gato destroys it…people already starve in the streets, so…"

"What I understand is that Gato paid _this_ mission, to have more Konoha shinobi here, right?" Kakashi asked warily. "Not only that, but he also paid for Kirigakure shinobi…quite a hefty sum, no doubt…and all for something that will no doubt bring him troubles?" Kakashi's only eye narrowed. "It doesn't make sense."

"It does actually," the Jounin-sensei of Team Four remarked. "You just need to take the bridge from the village once it's completed. That's the true problem. We're basically completing the bridge for Gato, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Uhm…so what?" Kakashi asked, "Should we do something like start a fourth shinobi war over a _cesspool of a village_?"

At his snappish tone, Tsunami clenched her hands firmly.

"T-That's true," the woman whispered, "But…it's our village. Should we really just starve to death?"

"You can always leave," Kakashi replied. "Find your luck elsewhere," the man shrugged.

"Hatake-san," Yugao hissed, but the man didn't listen.

Kakashi exhaled.

"That's probably why sensei sent all of this manpower here. In order to avoid a cheap shot at Team Four's expenses we're to show our muscles and look all menacing. Kirigakure is renowned for doing this sort of tricks…" he then looked at Tsunami with his only eye showing nothing but boredom.

"We aren't here to help you, as much as make sure Kiri doesn't try to kill the team we sent. Sorry, you're on your own."

"B-But please! There has to be something…"

"It's all a matter of consequences," Kakashi replied. "We fight Kirigakure shinobi on this mission, they'll fight our guys in another —and there won't be a platoon of Jounin to stop them from killing another team— then things will escalate, _badly_. All to save what, fifty, sixty starving people? It isn't worth it."

Then he turned towards Shinku. "So, if anyone asks…you're a Chuunin, all right?" Kakashi eye-smiled, "Act big and mean and growl a bit."

"That's against regulations, Hatake-san," Yugao remarked. "No shinobi can claim a rank above his assigned…"

"Now, now…I'm sure he'll enjoy it," Kakashi said then, "How does it sound, Shinku-kun? You get to act like a Chuunin for a few days."

Tsunami slowly sat down on her chair, tears streaking down her face as she went by ignored.

It was like watching a shipwreck, and knowing there was nothing you could do.

"Hatake-san…"

"Uzuki-san, don't worry. It's not like they'll ask. They'll see his armour and assume he is too young to be a Jounin, so they'll think him a Chuunin prodigy or something," Kakashi eye-smiled. "He'll get to play the part of the prodigy for once, won't he?"

Was the man _mocking_ him?

"It's his funeral," the woman shrugged. "Still, if everything goes well we'll be done with this by the end of the week…"

Shinku frowned. Were they all really ignoring the crying woman in the corner of the room?

_**You can do nothing about it.**_

"Well then, Shinku-kun," Kakashi replied. "Go and tell your teammates about your lucky promotion after your services in Takigakure," the silver-haired Jounin smiled. "It arrived through toad summoning after all."

"Ah…all right," he turned to leave, shaking his head slightly.

His tongue tasted like ashes as he walked once more through the dirty roads of Wave, heading towards the bridge. The shops were nearly empty, the children famished…and he was without sweets or anything else, for what it mattered.

"Mister," a small girl moved close to him, her hands extended —filthy as they were. "Do you have something?"

It broke his heart, because he had nothing. He awkwardly shook his head, before frowning as one of his hands went inside his pocket. Two dry sticks of meat found their way in the girl's hands. "Sorry, I don't have more," and then he began to walk once more.

The kid couldn't have been older than six, or seven years. He was thirteen…and yet he had never begged for food in his entire life. It…it anguished him. Seeing such misery and yet nothing could be done about it. They were just going to exchange a misery for another soon enough, judging by the way the Jounin had spoken.

_**There is a way.**_

_Uh?_

_**I said…there is a way.**_

_What?_

_**Kill Gato.**_

_Are you out of your mind!?_

_**Gato is a civilian. He's probably an old and fat guy sitting on a chair all day long signing documents. The only problems are the Kirigakure shinobi…but they won't be a problem if they're busy elsewhere.**_

_What do you mean?_

_**A smart shinobi chooses his battles. Straight-fighting isn't our style, Shinku. We're survivors…we're the weak little rabbit.**_

_So…I should kill Gato?_

_**No, you shouldn't.**_

Shinku actually frowned.

"You realize you aren't making any sense?" he asked warily, as the road ahead of him was devoid of people.

"Oh no, I'm making perfect sense. You asked for a way, and I told you. This doesn't mean you have to do it. In fact, you don't have to do it and I will stop you from doing it…but it is a viable way."

"The Jounin…"

"They probably are smarter than you, and they already know. Hell, maybe the Hokage himself knows and wants to test Kakashi…or punish him. The inability to do anything… it is terrifying, and we know all about it, don't we?" Shinku smiled.

"Can we please talk about something else?" he whispered.

"Suit yourself."

The bridge's entrance came into view then, as did the group of Genin. Sasuke was actually glaring daggers at two other Genin —one was Ami, so the other had to be 'Kota'.

"Uchiha-sama, is it true you can use the sharingan to see the future!?" Kota exclaimed with shining eyes.

"Sasuke-kun! I missed you!" Ami tried to tackle Sasuke, only for the boy to dodge and let her end up slamming against Kota. "Look where you're standing, stupid!" Ami screamed towards Kota, "Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke had aptly flickered behind Naruko, who was instead warily giving glances at Hibachi.

"So, how's the little Shinku doing in your team?" Hibachi said, "Did he finally manage to throw more than one shuriken at the time?"

Shinku frowned. He was within earshot…hadn't he seen him coming? Tenten and Neji both gazed at him, and since they were the two currently unoccupied, he neared them.

He coughed, "W…What's going on?"

"Well," Tenten smiled awkwardly, "Apparently Kota over there is a big Uchiha fan…"

Shinku nodded, before he gazed at the workers of the bridge —all of which had stopped to watch the funny scenes unfold of cat and mouse between Ami, Kota and Sasuke escaping.

"Where's Fu?" he asked, looking around. That lasted until two hands covered his eyes, making him flail for a moment with a startled gasp.

"Guess who!" her voice chirped from behind him.

"Fu-san?"

"Fu-chan sounds better," she pouted, before slinking her arms around his neck and pulling her chin to rest on his head. He could hear the buzzing of her wings on her back as she gazed and giggled at the scene of Sasuke running around like a duck chased by kids with sticks.

"Ah, all right then," he replied wearily. Did she really have to stay that close? Wasn't she going to get tired eventually?

Tenten gave him a strange look for a moment, before snorting.

"What?" he asked, blinking.

"Nothing, nothing," Tenten hummed, returning to watch Naruko keep a blank look over Hibachi's own praise of his actions.

Shinku frowned —weren't there supposed to be some swordsmen of the mist around here?

"Where are the Kiri shinobi?" he mumbled, gazing around.

"That is a surprisingly smart question from the dead last," Neji replied gruffly, before his eyes suddenly pulsed as thick veins appeared around them. "Byakugan."

"Up there," Neji said crisply, "they're all looking at us from the top of the bridge's pillars."

Neji frowned then, "Wait, they're…"

"Hey kid," a voice sultrily whispered near the Hyuga's ears. "Curiosity killed the cat."

Then, as if talking of the devil showed its tail, they were all there. Zabuza, the one that had met them at the pier, and…well, one was a woman with red hair and two swords strapped to her back, her teeth displaying shark-like features.

Another one had a dark-coloured beard and hair, which he tied into a topknot. He wore a purple poncho, and the weapons he held on his back were a giant sword and a hammer…but the one that actually scared Shinku more was the lithe-looking last one.

A mask covering his face, long dirty blond hair falling down around it…a thin and long sword held leisurely on his shoulder…he looked like the weakest of the four, and yet Shinku's entire body told him to run, hide, and never show himself again in front of the four.

The three others Kirigakure shinobi actually paled in comparison, two being gruff-looking men with respectively one and two metal horns on their forehead protectors.

The last one was a masked boy wearing a long kimono and with his hair flowing freely behind his back. He appeared calm, but with the mask on…it eerily resembled the Anbu masks…if not for the scary smooth porcelain and thin slits.

"So, we've got what? Three Jounin, One Chuunin and…" Zabuza sneakered, "a bunch of milk drinkers who aren't even worthy of being called shinobi," amusingly, he turned then to look at Shinku.

Shinku hated being the centre of the attention.

"Been in a scuffle recently, Chuunin-brat?"

So what if his armour had nicks on it? Well, more than nicks —actually, large gashes here and there.

His throat felt parched as the air filled with tension. The smell of blood reached his nostrils thickly as he realized he was sweating terribly beneath his armour. It was like being in an oven, with all the eyes and stares of the Kirigakure shinobi on him, centred on him, his body, his actions, his movements.

They believed him a chuunin because of the jacket, but if he actually showed weakness… what if the Kiri shinobi killed them all? It could happen. Maybe Fu and Naruko might survive the first few minutes of battle to call for help but…they'd be annihilated. Their bodies would fall on the ground and their eyes would glass over, like the dead Jounin in the cave below Taki.

They would die.

He didn't want to die.

Fu's arms tensed around his neck, as she stopped her flying to gently land behind him.

"Ah…against a Jounin," he acquiesced, putting up an awkward smile. "Caught me a bit by surprise…ah…ah…ah…" he nervously chuckled.

The tension increased in the air, as Zabuza took a step forward. Shinku could hear the sound of hands moving —at least, from the side that had both Sasuke and Naruko.

"You killed him?" Zabuza asked with his voice still carefree. The tension…he supposed he could cut it with a kunai? His brain was screaming at him to leave, to turn around…to run.

But if he did run, then he'd just be sliced in the back, wouldn't he?

"Killed four of his men," he replied, his voice now a low growl —had it always been like that, with that tone?

"Unfortunately," he took a step forward, "The Jounin caught me by surprise with a water technique. I'm more for making _quick_ and _clean_ kills than fighting it off on a one on one fight," he remarked dryly, shaking his head. "He did die in the end though," shrugging, Shinku mentally screamed.

_ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!? THEY'RE GOING TO KILL US! THEY'LL CALL YOUR BLUFF! THEY WILL! THEY WILL! I DON'T—_

_**Shut. Up.**_

Zabuza gazed at him once more, _appraising_ him. There was an instant of silence, it was so quiet that even the wind forgot to blow and the seagulls stopped shrieking up in the air. Even behind him, he could hear the breaths of the other Genin still.

"You know," Zabuza said in the end. "It takes guts to _**lie**_ to a Kiri shinobi," Zabuza's head moved closer to his face. "Guts that I would really enjoy carving out of your body…if we weren't on strict orders _not to_ _start_ anything…but if you want to start something…we can always _answer_ in kind."

Shinku neared his own face to the swordsman of the mist, so much that they were practically staring into one another eyes with but a hand of distance between them.

Clenching his right fist, Shinku whispered then.

"Let's stay…out of each…other's hair…then?"

"Uhm…very well," Zabuza shrugged, as the tension dropped down to nothing abruptly and Shinku realized he could finally _breathe_ freely again. "At least they give balls to the Konoha chuunin nowadays."

"Don't start talking of balls and sausages," Shinku rolled his eyes. "Someone here likes to take measurements."

He could hear Naruko stutter and sputter, but he couldn't help that remark. _It hadn't come from his mouth to begin with_.

Well, it _**had**_.

But…it _**hadn't**_ been his mouth.

"Well, I'm sure we'll see much of each other soon," Zabuza chuckled. "Stay sharp, kid…" and with that the kunai that had been until that moment an inch away from Shinku's neck moved away. Shinku blinked.

"You too," with that, his right hand dropped the shuriken he had in his sleeve back in his pouch.

When had he taken the shuriken?

When had the kunai been near his neck?

Had it been when Fu had moved backwards?

He felt a pounding headache incoming, as the strongest of migraines seemed just inches away from erupting in his brain. He had talked to a swordsman of the mist. Well, his inner-self had. Had he gone mad? Probably… Only a mad and idiotic imbecile would try to play it cool with a shinobi of the mist…with a swordsman of the mist…with a Jounin of the mist…surrounded by a flock of…of…

The moment the Kiri shinobi disappeared in a flicker of fog, Shinku realized he couldn't move his legs.

He was rooted to the spot, completely and utterly scared stiff. "Shin-chan?" Naruko hazarded after a moment. He gave her a fear-filled look, before cracking out from his throat a single word.

"_Help_."

Then he collapsed on the ground, out cold.

Yes, it was the optimal solution, to sleep through it all.

**Author's notes**

**Next chapter, Inner-Shinku.**

**As of the previous one, I made a mistake writing 'uzumaki' rather than Namikaze. Ops.**

**Another thing is…yep, I read the reviews, don't worry. I'm just an extreme procrastinator. So…'yeah, I'll reply today…no, maybe tomorrow…' at least I don't procrastinate on writing.**


	31. Trouble Grows as Crimson and White Walk

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-One

"Fainting because of some killing intent," a voice mocked. "Really."

"What was that about, Kakashi-Nii? Dad got Shin-chan up to Chuunin? That's so unfair!"

"So the dead-last actually became a Chuunin before all of us?" that was Hibachi's voice, wasn't it?

"There's too many people around here, he needs air!" that clearly was Yugao's snappish tone. "Out, all of you!" he could hear the moving of steps.

"Sasuke-kun!" that was Ami's screech, which apparently came from outside a dingy room he found himself in, the moment he cracked his eyes open.

"We are in Tazuna's house," Yugao said firmly, appearing at the corner of his eyes. "They told me you collapsed after meeting with the Kirigakure shinobi."

"Ah…yeah;" he muttered, closing his eyes and letting the deep pitch-black darkness of his eyelids overcome his sight. If only he could sleep through the entire thing…

"You held your ground," Yugao continued.

"It was…stupid," Shinku muttered. "Stupid. Stupid. Completely _stupid_," he hissed out, "I'm an idiot."

"You kept your cool."

"I challenged in a verbal spar a _Jounin_," he snarled back, "That is the epitome of _stupidity_."

"Maybe, but you reacted well to the stress. Your other teammates froze from the killing intent."

"A lot of good it did me," Shinku bitterly chuckled, "A lot of good…"

"You should be surprised by how rare it is," Yugao commented. "A lot of shinobi take months to properly avoid freezing up in front of their fears. You even took a step forward. It is impressive."

"It was reckless, not impressive," Shinku muttered. "I'm the dead last of the class, Uzuki-sensei. Nothing I do will ever be impressive. It will be reckless, stupid, done badly…it will never 'impress' anyone."

"You're not used to receiving praise."

Yugao Uzuki stated the fact, rather than asking it as a question. Softly, she added in a lower tone. "You can refuse orders if they're suicidal, you know? You didn't have to play the Chuunin when Kakashi asked you to."

"I'm not good at many things," Shinku replied, "But of all the stats at the Academy 'working with others' was the highest. It's…It's not difficult," he chuckled. "One just needs to forget being right, and accept the orders from others. Once the hierarchy is established…you just go from there, right?"

"Those are pretty deep thoughts for a child."

"That's reality," Shinku hissed back. "You don't get to choose how you're born. You get to choose what you'll do with your life, but depending on how you're born…the road is only in one direction. Trying to go in another…that's an uphill battle you know you're bound to lose."

"So I was born to be in Anbu then," Yugao remarked dryly. "Just like half the rest of the team I usually take missions with. I was born with the mask on, right?"

"No," Shinku muttered, "But had your parents been from Suna, would you have entered the Konoha's Anbu? Had your parents been from Iwa, would you have even stepped into Konoha?" his eyes snapped open, gazing at Yugao's own. "We have control over a meagre part of our lives. We do not 'control it' and neither are we 'bound' by it. Some have a larger width, others have a narrower one."

"You're not stupid, you know that?" Yugao murmured. Shinku flinched.

"I know what I am," he replied bitterly. "And intelligent is clearly not there."

"Very well," Yugao exhaled. "Here," another chocolate chip found its way straight into Shinku's mouth. "Eat chocolate."

Shinku coughed, before swallowing the chip that nearly suffocated him. He gagged and then stood upright, thumping at his chest. "What the—"

"Another one." Another chocolate chip ended up in his mouth.

"Are you trying to kill me!?"

"One more," the moment the third one entered his mouth —he had closed it, he could swear he had—Yugao nodded firmly. "It's your destiny to be force fed chocolate when your mood is down."

Shinku gazed at her with half-narrowed eyes, while carefully munching on the chips in his mouth. He swallowed the treats then, before licking with his tongue the sides of his teeth and the top of his throat.

"Well, better now?" Yugao remarked.

"_Why_ are you doing this?"

"I like to help others," she shrugged. "Rest now; I'll have someone bring you dinner."

"I don't…"

"It's your destiny to have dinner here. If you try and move from that bed, not even the Hokage will save you," Yugao stated firmly, narrowing her eyes on him. "_Understood_?"

Shinku shuddered, before nodding as fast as possible. "H-Hai!"

"Good boy," and with that, another chip ended up in his mouth. What was he, a dog?

Then the woman left and he slumped back down against the bed with his eyes looking upwards. A sound attracted his attention, coming from the window. He tensed, looking around quickly for whatever weapon he could use. The rattling of the window soon finished, as the lock went 'click'.

The window slid open next, and to Shinku's relief Fu quietly made her way inside after letting her wings disappear. "Hey," she whispered. "You're awake," she blinked before sitting down on the side of the bed —and then falling down without a worry, landing right over his stomach.

"Ouch…yes," he mumbled. "What happened?"

"You fainted, of course," Fu stated plainly. "You fainted and you were carried back by me at the speed of light!" she giggled. "You're fine now, right?" she turned her head to gaze at him —were her eyes _glowing_? How did she manage to make them glow?

"Y-Yeah," he acquiesced. "I was just… scared senseless, I suppose."

"I was ready to substitute you with a log, you know," Fu replied. "That's why I held on to your neck."

Shinku blinked, before smiling slightly. "Thanks."

"That's what friends are there for!" Fu exclaimed, before slowly rolling to the side of the bed and curling up in a ball. "We're friends, right?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Good!" she giggled, before gripping on his right arm. "Promise not to be scared?"

"Scared of what, exactly?" Shinku asked wearily.

"You know how…well, I've got control over flesh eating bugs, right?" she replied. "There's…well, I can track down people by implanting a bug in their skins…it's completely harmless, really! The little thing feeds on chakra and a bit of blood, and it doesn't procreate."

_**No. No flesh-eating bug inside my body for as long as I draw breath.**_

_Isn't that…_

_**NO.**_

Shinku winced at the mental scream from his…inner-self.

"It releases pheromones which I can smell even miles away, so…" she held on to his arm, opening the palm of his hand and letting her index finger move across it —she was nervously writing the word 'courage' on the palm of it.

"Is it going to hurt?" Shinku asked.

"No, nope, not at all!" Fu exclaimed, "I'll place it on the back of your right hand, all right? So you'll always know it's there…and it will be a nice bright red, yep…" Shinku felt her entire body shudder as she slowly opened her mouth, emitting from within it a small saliva-covered bug of a bright red shade.

It made Shinku's skin crawl.

_**That**_.

_That was disgusting_.

Holding his hand steady, Fu hummed to herself as the bug stilled over the back of his limb. Shinku held his breath and closed his eyes. It was going to hurt, he just knew it was going to…

"Done."

It hadn't hurt.

He flexed his hand —nothing had changed— and then he gazed at it. There was a small red dot right in the centre of the back of his hand —it was the size of a small grain of rice.

"When it turns black, it means I'm dead by the way," Fu said with a sad smile. "I always wanted someone to have one. You know, I thought I'd die without anyone ever being my friend, so I really wanted to make one…at least to have someone remember me once I'm dead…"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you talking like…like you're about to die?"

"Because it can happen," Fu smiled brightly. "And the Nanabi is transferred when the host is still alive after all so…I'm not going to die of old age anyway."

"That's…"

"That's how it is, Shinku-kun," Fu murmured, before gripping his hand and staring at the bright crimson shade of her flesh-eating bug now firmly nested in Shinku's limb. "So I'm glad I made a friend before it happened."

"You could come to Konoha," Shinku muttered.

"That would be nice but…" she awkwardly gazed at him, "The Nanabi is a weapon of Takigakure…I could come…but the Bijuu would have to remain behind, and extracting it…it kills the user."

"Oh."

"Oh," Fu muttered, before pushing her body further upwards, so that her head rested in the crane of his armpit. "It's nice to have a friend…I said that how many times already?"

"Four, or five," Shinku replied quietly.

"Uh-uh…" and then Fu fell asleep, like a log.

It was to her soft snoring, that another voice rose.

_**The jacket makes us a target, Shinku.**_

_It kept us safe._

_**It makes us a target. It must be removed.**_

_B-But—_

_**STOP STUTTERING IN YOUR DAMN MIND! Get rid of it. End of the story.**_

_But if I do…_

_**They read our bluff. They'll just come to show you pain now. Get rid of it. You'd have better luck going back to Taki together with the girl.**_

_What?_

_**She's a Jinchuuriki, she's lonely, you can use her. For survival. We can use anyone, to survive.**_

_What are you talking about? No! That's…_

_**To live or to die. There is no half-way measure of pity. You live or you die. Live or die. Live OR die. Sacrifice or be sacrificed. White or black. Grey doesn't exist when we deal with your very life.**_

_Do I really think like that, deep down?_

_**Shinku, Shinku, Shinku…let me ask you a question, all right?**_

The voice was amused as it spoke, the words coming out in a sing-sung tone.

_**You die unless you push someone in front of the line of fire of the enemy. Do you push someone else in front of the line of fire to survive?**_

_What question is that?_

_**Answer me.**_

_N-No! That's…_

_**You're dead.**_

_Well obviously but…_

_**You. Are. Dead. End of the games. End of the Shinku. End of Haruno Shinku. He's dead. Blood on the ground. Corpse rotting in the sun. Let me sing you a song while we're at it…**_

"_**In the cave I saw a corpse rot, **_

_**And guess what?**_

_**Nobody cared, nobody cared,**_

_**Nobody came since nobody dared.**_

_**And in the cave a corpse rotted away,**_

_**And guess what? It was Shinku's by the way."**_

_That's horrible._

_**THAT'S THE TRUTH!**_

He winced as his right hand clenched gently against the palm of Fu's, resting by his side.

_That's not…_

_**You died. Congratulation. You're dead. Let us cry the death of Shinku! Dead-last extraordinaire!**_

_That was theoretical!_

_**Yes, it was…but do you want to know the truth, Shinku? When that time will come…I will push someone else in the firing line. Because I am you, your true you…and I want to survive. We want to survive Shinku…**_

_Why are you telling me this!? You're a figment of my imagination!_

_**It doesn't work that way, Shinku. The brain is wonderful, but it has its limits. You're broken now. You'll remain broken forever and ever. We'll always be together, Shinku. You can't leave your other self behind now, forget it as if it's nothing more than a piece of loose clothing to scrap.**_

It was quiet, as the voice whispered out of his mouth a low murmur, barely audible.

"I am here to _survive_, Shinku," he whispered.

The door opened then, as Naruko came walking in with a bowl per hand. She carefully deposited the bowls on the side of the bed, and then snickered at the sight of a wide-eyed Shinku and a drooling Fu over the right side of Shinku's body.

"Aw…that's cute."

Shinku glared at Naruko. "Really cute," Naruko added.

Shinku glared more. "Mister Chuunin can easily untangle himself, right?" she added then.

"I'm not…" he whispered, before looking around. The coast clear, he mouthed. "I'm not really a chuunin. It's Kakashi's…"

"Kakashi-Nii told me," Naruko shrugged. "No worries," she chuckled. "He told me and Duckbutt. Really, you should have seen the Hyuga's face when Yugao-sensei told him you were a Chuunin! It was priceless!"

Fu moaned lightly at the noise Naruko made, turning to the side and cracking open one of her eyes to gaze at the girl.

Naruko snickered. "Hello Fu-chan! Slept well in Shin-chan's arms?"

"Uh?" Fu blinked blearily, before suddenly turning crimson and 'buzzing' off the bed and on the side of it. "I'm sorry! I didn't want to fall asleep Shin-kun!" she bowed repeatedly.

"Ah, it's all—"

Naruko snickered some more, before Sasuke barged in. "Did I miss it?" then he exhaled in relief. "I didn't!"

"Miss what?" Shinku asked dumbfounded.

"Come on, guess," Naruko snickered as Fu turned an even darker shade of red.

"I don't know?"

"Told you he was as thick as a marble column," Naruko chuckled, showing her open palm to Sasuke who passed over five ryos.

Fu pouted, before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Really, no reaction?" Sasuke grumbled. "Nothing at all?"

"What are you talking about?" Shinku asked, slowly standing up from his position on the bed. He winced as he could feel his head drum, the incoming headache slowly building itself up.

"Now, now, get back down," Naruko chided him before forcing him to stay down once more.

"I'm…I'm fine, really," he grumbled.

"You shouldn't underestimate it," Sasuke replied. "People can die of killing intent, you know? It is a natural emission of Yin chakra by enemy shinobi. It actually is a technique by itself, and Kirigakure shinobi can not only make a target freeze with it…some can even bring the enemy to commit suicide by simply watching them hard enough."

"Yeah Shin-chan, I was actually scared you were going to die out there. It was stupid to take up that challenge like that. You know what that calls for?"

Sasuke then plopped down on one side of the bed, as Naruko grinned while doing the same on the other side.

Shinku frowned. "What—"

"Team hug!"

"Gah!"

Sputtering in embarrassment, Shinku found himself hugged on both sides by both Naruko and Sasuke, before Fu joined the fray with a hug too.

"What is wrong with you lot!?" he asked then, his voice slightly cracked.

"If you tell this to anyone, I will kill you," Sasuke stated plainly before standing back up. Naruko chuckled as she did the same, while Fu detached herself with a pout —what, did she want to keep on hugging him some more?

"What brought this on?" Shinku asked once more.

"When Duckbutt does something stupid, first comes the 'how could you do something that stupid' talk and then the hug," Naruko nodded sagely. "It's part of the deal, you know. Something bad comes first and then something good comes next, and hugs are good right? Well, we skipped the 'how could you do something that stupid' part because Kakashi-Nii is the one to blame."

"Really, that man," Sasuke growled. "Does he really have no shame?"

Shinku chuckled. Naruko blinked. "Oh, right!" she handed over one bowl to him and one to Fu. "Dinner is served. Naruko's team-only ramen specialty for sour moods, guaranteed to work nine-hundred percent of times!"

"Nine-hundred percent?" Shinku remarked dryly, making a small smile. "Why nine-hundred?"

"Nine-Tails, Nine-hundred, Nine-Times awesome," Naruko flashed him a bright smile. "Just like Uke-chan is Uke-times awesome."

"Why does that sound more like a bad thing?" Sasuke grumbled.

Fu giggled. "I'm seven-times awesome then," she said. "Seven's a lucky number too."

Shinku didn't properly remember when he fell asleep —probably after dinner and a few more minutes of talking, what with his stomach being full and his mind tired.

He knew that when he woke up at four in the morning, there was a hand over his mouth. His eyes widened briefly, as Kakashi-sensei's face came into view, his free hand moving over his masked lips in a 'quiet' sign.

In the room, the rest of Hibachi's team was resting. He carefully moved past the sleeping form of his once classmate —he had gone to bed dressed after all— and descended the stairs. The sun had yet to rise, and the cold air mixed with the salty breeze and the rotten fish smell filled his nostrils, waking him up completely.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

They passed by the tents pitched out, where probably the rest of the teams were sleeping, and then headed in the direction of the village.

He remained quiet, even as they took to the rooftops.

There wasn't a sound throughout the entire village, eerily so, as they trudged across the roofs of the dilapidated buildings. It was no different than tree-walking, and as Shinku caught his breath, he watched the silver hair of his sensei shine lightly beneath the light of the moon.

Then, they stopped close to the bridge.

"Beyond the bridge," Kakashi spoke slowly, "There's Gato's mansion up in the hills."

Shinku paled. The man couldn't be asking him this, could he?

"There is a strict issue of shinobi being paid in advance before completing their missions —hence, why there is usually no need to kill the contractor of another shinobi team." Kakashi's lonely eye narrowed on him. "I underestimated you."

Shinku began to tremble, as the air grew thick with the scent of blood, his entire body began to sweat as his throat constricted —he needed air, he needed to breathe!

"So it will not happen again," Kakashi acquiesced. "You learned how to walk on water. If you apply the same principle to solid ground, but in reverse, you will not make any noise as you walk forward."

"Sensei?"

"Tsunami-san left the house earlier tonight, headed towards Gato's mansion. It is clear what her intentions are. She will plead the man to have mercy on the village, and Gato will kill her before showing her body tomorrow in the middle of the village. He'll probably leave the corpse to rot and hang, with the mist shinobi protecting it."

"Why?"

"If you want to save her, you would have to infiltrate the mansion, avoid or fight your way through the Kirigakure shinobi that are there, and then escape with her," Kakashi remarked. "In order to avoid a war with Kiri, you would either have to silence all witnesses or do it in such a way as to not be discovered."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "What do you do?"

It was a question?

"I…" he wouldn't go and save her, it was that simple. "I wouldn't go."

"You know," Kakashi said then, "Naruko would. She would charge straight ahead, fighting through the Kirigakure shinobi and Jounin without a care in the world, conscious that either sensei or someone else would come to help her because she'd be doing the right thing, or maybe she'd use the Kyuubi," the silver-haired Jounin sighed.

"Sasuke too would go, out of chivalry and Uchiha-sense of honour, he would go to save an innocent woman from such a thing and would probably act as quietly as possibly…he would fail, and then he would use his Mangekyou sharingan to get out of the trouble."

His eye then turned to him.

"You, on the other hand…I expected the answer, I did. You have nothing to use as backup after all. It's normal, isn't it? A shinobi that fucks up a mission dies nine times out of ten, Shinku. There's no magical rewind button or super-powerful shield technique for the rest of the shinobi. You sneeze and you don't get to laugh with the enemy who just discovered you…you sneeze and you die. You blink and you're dead. You mutter something and if you're heard…you die. Naruko and Sasuke, they're both fearless."

Kakashi exhaled. "It's not a good thing at all, in the shinobi business, to be without fear."

The cold breeze picked up a bit more, as Shinku quietly gazed ahead. "Why are we here, sensei?"

"If, instead of Tsunami currently being killed…there was Naruko, or Sasuke…would you intervene?"

His breathing caught in his throat, Shinku closed his eyes sharply and trembled. Would he?

Hadn't he done so the first time around? No.

No, the first time around…they had been there along the way. He wouldn't move…and yet, he had an inkling of doubt that the other two…they would.

Even if it would start a war, the other two would come for him.

"I would die," he whispered. "What help could I give?"

Kakashi hummed. "You see…that's the problem. You wouldn't know unless you tried."

There was another long minute of silence. "I don't think I ever told you, but…let me be perfectly clear," Kakashi remarked. "Those who abandon their mission are trash," his voice suddenly felt as heavy as a rock, weighting down on Shinku's shoulders and crushing the air out of his lungs. "Those who abandon their teammates however…they are worse than trash."

Then, Kakashi's right hand gripped tightly on Shinku's shoulder. "If your teammates are about to die, and you do not step in to save them, Haruno Shinku…I will kill you myself. You are an expendable resource of Konoha; do not give yourself a higher value than the lives of your teammates, _because you don't even have a value_."

His single eye narrowed sharply on Shinku's pale face.

"You are probably the most worthless shinobi of the Academy, I have seen dead-lasts rise through hard work and training done to the point that blood oozed out of their mouths. I know of a boy without chakra that still became a shinobi, passing the academy on Taijutsu alone. You are worthless, a worthless sack of flesh and an outright worthless shinobi. You wear the jacket that belongs to a dead person as if you've earned it, but you did not. Someone else killed the man, someone else is worthy of wearing the jacket."

Shinku's breathing grew ragged.

"Maybe that Jounin had a family, when you took his flak jacket away you took out the only chance of his widow to cry on something. Did you think about that? No, of course not…what of the son, who might have wanted to wear his father's flak-jacket?"

Kakashi's own came from his father's one, after all.

"What of the things he had in his pockets? Did he have a photo of his family in there? Did you check? Did you care? No, you didn't," Kakashi tore down on Shinku like a flood, as tears menaced to erupt from the boy's eyes.

"This is why," Kakashi snapped the jacket open, "you don't get to wear that flak jacket anymore."

Shinku was trembling by the time Kakashi flung the flak jacket behind him, letting it land on the rooftop's surface with a 'thud'.

Kakashi's single eye then closed for a moment, as the Jounin's breath grew even once more. "From this moment onwards," he carefully unrolled a scroll from his vest, letting it puff to reveal a flak jacket much like his own, if not newer. "From this moment, you will wear this one from Konoha."

He handed it over and it was all that Shinku could do to actually grasp it without letting it fall on the ground, his eyes wide as he gazed at Kakashi, he couldn't understand just what was going on.

"Let me just tell you this, as a final parting knowledge," Kakashi added thoughtfully. "Naruko and Sasuke heard Tsunami move…considering there are two Kage Bunshin in the tent in their place."

Shinku's entire frame stilled.

His breathing ceased completely.

"They followed her, heading towards Gato's mansion."

"No…" Shinku croaked, "No…no…"

Kakashi's hand calmly patted Shinku's shoulder. "Of course, I stopped them," Shinku exhaled in relief.

"But _you_, well…if you want to try your hand at infiltrating a highly secured building knowing your previous experience…" Kakashi's lone eye twinkled, "I could show you the ropes of assassination."

"If that's how you pitch in students to learn from you," Shinku _snarled_, "It's not a wonder they placed an observer."

Kakashi's lone eye sharply narrowed.

Shinku stared back at him with defiance in his eyes, rather than the meek-looking and half-scared senseless boy of before. He donned his chuunin armour, carefully closing the flak jacket with quick and precise movements before giving him a curt nod.

"I'm going back to bed," he hissed. "Next time you want to try and have me killed…think again, _sensei_."

Spitting out that word like an insult, Shinku left the rooftops headed towards the house.

"Uhm…" Kakashi hummed, "That's…interesting."

Beneath the sky that slowly began to lit up, Shinku walked furiously across the streets. Really, what did the man believe? 'Assassination'? Him? Why would he even care about that!? He was in for a desk job. A desk job. He'd murder paperwork.

He wouldn't murder anything or anyone else.

Worse, why had the man taken an interest in him? What was he? A…sacrifice? Expendable resource.

Sure, when compared to Naruko, Sasuke or…Fu, he was expendable.

He was expendable. Would anyone even bat an eye-lid if he were sacrificed?

Would anyone?

He smiled briefly then, as his anger slowly melted away. His team probably would mount up a storm. Yes, they probably would.

"Excuse me," a little voice called to him, as he turned to watch a young woman in a form-fitting kimono stumble forward. "Shinobi-san?"

"Yes?" he said, warily eying her. The kimono seemed new when compared to everything else around the village, but he supposed that…well, whorehouses always had rooms filled with misery in the air.

"Are you heading out of town?"

"Yes," he nodded back.

"Ah! Can…could we go together, please shinobi-san? I'm a bit scared of going around the streets now so early in the morning…"

Shinku shrugged.

"Thanks," with that, the woman actually linked arms with him. He frowned at the gesture, but the girl just smiled at him kindly.

They began to walk towards the exit of the village like that —why Tazuna had built his house away from it was something Shinku didn't even want to ask about, but it was quite the problem when Kakashi, of all people, brought him all the way there for nothing more than a chat.

"What is your name, Shinobi-san?" the woman asked as they walked, trying to strike up some conversation.

"Shinku," he replied awkwardly.

"Crimson?" the woman smiled, "Mine is Haku," she giggled. "We're colours."

"White," Shinku acquiesced. "We just need the rest of the rainbow I suppose."

"Shinku-san," Haku said with a light smile on her lips, "Were you checking on the bridge? It's coming along nicely, isn't it?" she added excitedly, "Soon it's going to be finished and then Wave will flourish once more."

"Y-Yeah," Shinku replied awkwardly. "Little less than a week, then we'll be gone."

"The Kiri shinobi are a bit scary, don't you think?" Haku asked him, her lips pursed showing off a light shade of lipstick. "What with their swords and masks…" she tightened her hold on his arm for a moment. "When they came into the shop I work in," the brothel —probably— "they were so scary. Not like you Konoha shinobi at all…" she smiled. "There's a boy…Hibachi-kun, he always come by and talk to me when he has some free time."

"Oh?" he blinked. "And what does he talk about?"

Haku giggled. "Now, now, a girl doesn't tell certain things."

"I see," he acquiesced. "Why are you going out of the village so early in the morning?"

"Gathering herbs," she replied. "I'm working at the chemist shop, so…"

Shinku felt ashamed of himself. Really, why did he have to think she was a whore? He would have probably begged forgiveness, had he made his suspicions known beforehand…but he didn't, so everything was fine.

"You're not afraid of wild animals?"

"Wave is free of such things," Haku replied. "And I can defend myself," she added with a look that was more defenceless than 'sure of what she was doing'.

"I see," he replied. "Well…if you want a hand," he added then, "There's nothing else I have to do during the day."

"Ara, ara," Haku smiled with her free hand to her mouth, "Are you hitting on me, Shinku-san?"

Shinku spluttered. "N-No!"

"Oh," Haku made a crestfallen face. "I would have let you."

"T-That's teasing!" Shinku grumbled, "You don't tease people like that, Haku-san."

"A girl needs to find her fun in life from somewhere," she flashed him a smile with her perfect white teeth.

"There are other means to have fun," Shinku muttered back, "like baking. Baking is nice."

"Baking?" Haku asked, "You bake, Shinku-san?"

"Why is everyone so surprised?" he muttered. "I'm the son of bakers; I'm supposed to know how to bake."

"Oh," the woman said, "Yet you chose the shinobi profession?"

"Yes," he acquiesced. "In retrospect, maybe it was stupid of me. I'm not even a good shinobi to begin with," he chuckled, before his eyes widened briefly.

"Wait," Haku's face turned into a light frown as she seemed to be mulling over something, "You're Shinku Haruno, perhaps?"

"Hibachi spoke of me?"

"Well…" Haku looked sideways, "He did."

"Oh? And what did he…"

"Shinku-san," Haku said with a small and sad smile. "Sometimes people say things they don't really mean…"

"Ah, I understand," Shinku exhaled. "Nothing good, uh?"

"I'm sure he does not really mean it."

"Was it really that bad?" Shinku chuckled as Tazuna's house passed by in the corner of his eyes. The sun was barely starting to show, colouring everything a light shade of orange.

"Indeed," Haku murmured softly. "But you do not strike me as a weak man, Shinku-san," she carefully lowered her head to the side, letting it rest on his shoulder. "I'll tell Hibachi-kun next time he comes by…he shouldn't talk ill of his friends behind their backs."

Shinku could only smile awkwardly.

On the other hand, Haku was starting to get pissed off.

The Chuunin's jacket was empty of any important document, and the way he was following her…either he was truly the dead-last the other Konoha Genin claimed him to be, or there was something amiss. He didn't know why Zabuza-sama insisted on gathering information on the Chuunin of all people, but maybe it was just a way to test him.

He was one of the youngest hunter-nins in the history of Kirigakure, there was nothing that could escape his eyes and if he had to Henge into a woman to obtain something and pad his chest with rubber, then he would do it for the sake of the mission.

So why was he wondering what was the truth in the Chuunin's words? Either he was a prodigy or he wasn't, and while everything pointed to the latter…he could not refute the way the others treated him.

Talking with a Jounin over the bridge at night, receiving private briefings and being a part of the command chain…getting down to business rather than run around like a headless chicken behind a crush, those were all things that people in command did.

He'd find out everything he could, and then he'd go back to Zabuza-sama…either with the info he needed…or with a corpse.

Any of the two was good enough to start a war, after all.

**Author's notes**

**Longest chapter ever. Didn't want to end. **


	32. Something is Taught Every Single Time

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Two

"A lot of people get hurt during the construction of the bridge," Haku whispered, her hands delicately grasping at a few strangely coloured herbs. "And with the high prices of Gato's corporation, the supplying has stopped for the small businesses."

She shook her head. "What little comes through is usually priced so high nobody can acquire it anyway."

Shinku watched her move around, carefully picking this or that plant that to him looked all the same. The sun was now high enough for it to be seven, or maybe even eight in the morning. It peaked through the branches of the tree.

Shinku yawned with a hand in front of his mouth, before noticing the red bug on the back of his hand and wincing. Carefully, he took out a kunai and began to spin it with his right hand —eying the nearby tree trunk.

It really didn't feel any different, and yet he now had a flesh-eating bug in his right hand —how creepy was that to begin with?

Haku's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Is something the matter, Shinku-san?"

"Uh? No, nothing much," he shrugged. "Just thinking."

Had Fu done the same with Naruko and Sasuke? Or maybe he was special because he was her 'first' friend? The girl was so carefree however, how could she possibly not have made at least another?

"Are you aiming for the tree, Shinku-san?" Haku asked, his left hand quietly moving to a senbon needle coated in poison in his right sleeve.

"Yes," Shinku acquiesced, before turning to gaze at Haku. The Kiri shinobi smiled, holding up his Henge and finishing moving his left hand as if to dust 'her' kimono off. "Do you need a hand?" Shinku pocketed the kunai a moment later.

"Ah, no, there will be no need," Haku remarked. He was starting to get annoyed. He needed to know more about their team, their composition, their power.

"I had a question," Haku tensed again. Was he actually fishing for information? Did he know that 'she' was a he? No, it wasn't possible. "Since you're a girl, I…well, I'm sure you can help me out with it."

Haku made a strained smile. "Yes?"

"What reaction are you supposed to make when someone hugs you out of the blue?" Shinku asked carefully. "I don't get the big deal over it…I mean, what if you fell asleep next to a man and woke up afterwards, why would the man need to react…and how?"

Was that a trick question?

"Uhm…you mean, Shinku-san…if I went asleep next to a man by mistake?"

"Yes," he acquiesced.

"Well, I'd need to trust the man," Haku said, "And then…I suppose I'd be flustered if I fell asleep by mistake, sleeping makes all people defenceless. For a ninja, it would undoubtedly be twice that problematic."

"Even Kirigakure Jounin?" Shinku's voice came out as a low hiss, his eyes narrow and his gaze hard.

Haku simply froze.

The implications were that he _knew_ of his mission, and he was acting like this _on purpose_. How terrifying…was this why Zabuza-sama wanted him checked?

"I don't…know, they're pretty scary…maybe they know how to sleep lightly?"

"Uhm," Shinku returned thoughtful. "There's a way to walk quietly after all," he mumbled. "Still, why would a girl sleep by mistake next to a guy?"

"Maybe…she likes him?" he hazarded.

Shinku chuckled.

"Really?" then he shook his head. "No, I don't think that's possible."

"Why not?" Haku remarked.

"There's too much of a difference," he muttered. "I'm not really a likeable person to begin with," he added. "Don't girls prefer tough and mean looking shinobi or upstart clan children? When you're the son of bakers, really…you don't get girls flocking at you."

"I find you very likeable, Shinku-san," Haku remarked. "Being a Chuunin, I'm sure you are also strong."

He didn't reply to that, instead pushing his back against the nearby tree's trunk and then thoughtfully gazing up in the air.

"That's impossible," Haku's ears heard him mutter. "What are you getting your head in the gutter for?"

Ignoring the words apparently —but actually listening in— Haku continued to collect herbs, remaining within earshot.

"Don't think you'll find a girlfriend in that way. Come on be realistic."

"But you heard her," he muttered.

"No, it is unneeded and distracting."

"For you it's all about surviving this and that, really…"

"Then why don't you gather up the courage and go say something, uh? You scared wimp."

Haku hummed. Maybe he'd stop with the 'talking with himself' act soon enough.

A loud buzzing soon resounded in the air, as Haku's ears perked up. It grew increasingly closer, zeroing in on their location as the branches broke apart from the incoming bullet of green chakra that landed in the clearing a moment later.

Sniffing the air, Fu took a moment before turning her head sharply to where Shinku was standing and then colliding with his perplexed form.

"Shin-kun!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "Uzuki-sensei is really mad at you!" she added then sweetly, "You're not supposed to leave the bed yet!"

"I was called out by Kakashi-sensei," Shinku muttered back. "It wasn't like I could refuse," he added softly.

"Oh my, Shinku-san," Haku said standing up. "You were injured? I let you follow me, while you should have been resting? How inconsiderate of me…"

"It's all right," Shinku added hastily, "It was nothing worth mentioning—"

Fu gripped on his neck and spun, getting slightly behind him before pouting and looking at Haku. "Who's she?"

"H-Haku-san," Shinku replied awkwardly. "She works at the chemist shop in Wave."

"Uhm…" Fu narrowed her golden eyes on Haku.

Haku tensed slightly, as he gripped on to his basket and cocked his head to the side. "Well," he began with his falsetto voice, "I'll be going then…thank you for your help in guarding me, Shinku-san."

He moved closer then, taking out a little wild chrysanthemum and placing it in the pocket of his jacket. "Here, the Chrysanthemum is a sign of power and respect…hope it helps you."

Then, smiling and waving, she headed back across the meadow.

Shinku's head suddenly felt pulled to the side, and he ended up staring deeply into the honey eyes of Fu. The girl bit her lips lightly, before turning a bright red shade and letting go. She hesitantly took a step backwards, holding her hands behind her back and then looked sideways.

"Uhm…" she mumbled. "There's…"

"Yes?"

"Breakfast," Fu quickly blurted out, before grabbing at his hand. "We're going to be late if we don't move!" with that said, she gripped his midriff and shot off in the air.

"Hey!" Shinku's exclamation died in the wind, as he ended up carried all the way back to Tazuna's house…

Tsunami wasn't there.

It was as he realized that, as he watched the furrowed brow of Tazuna turn serious as he gazed around in worry, that he finally understood what had happened truly the night before.

"We saw her head out," Naruko exclaimed, flailing her arms wildly. "She said she was going for a stroll."

His heart drummed hard in his chest. "The Dobe wanted to follow her, but sensei stopped us from leaving. She said she was just going to watch the seaside by the beach."

This was Sasuke's voice.

"Mah, she'll be fine," Kakashi's voice came next. "She's an adult…she makes her choices," he added thoughtfully, before turning to gaze at Shinku. "Look who's back from his morning walk," the man smiled brightly. "You saw Tsunami-san perhaps, Shinku-kun?"

"N-No;" he stuttered out, shaking his head. "I was in the meadow over there," he pointed in the general direction from where Fu had 'flown' them back. "What happened?"

"My daughter disappeared, that's what!" Tazuna exclaimed, "You're tasked with guarding me and my family and yet she disappeared!"

"Team Four is tasked with guarding _you_, Tazuna-san," Kakashi remarked, "Not your family, and only from bandits. We are tasked with delivering the extra scroll and enhancing the protection of the bridge against bandit attacks...if your daughter chose to leave, it's none of our business."

Tazuna ground his teeth and clenched his fist.

"I knew it;" the small kid —Inari— said then, "In the end, you can do nothing against Gato," he muttered.

"He probably killed her already!" Inari screamed, tears coming out of his eyes as he dashed back inside the house.

"Inari!" Tazuna exclaimed, turning to look at his grandson. Gritting his teeth, the bridge-builder exhaled. "I'm sure she'll be back home by tonight," he muttered. "I have to go to the bridge now…"

He turned to look at the assembled shinobi. "Please…couldn't some of you just look for her?"

Kakashi hummed. "Why not," he gazed at Neji and Tenten. "You two and…" he pointed at Fu, "Fu-chan will look for Tsunami."

Kakashi then gazed at Hibachi, Kota and Ami, "You three will guard the bridge together with your sensei and…"

Kakashi pointed at his own team. "We will do some training!"

"Hatake-san," Yugao firmly quipped. "I believe Haruno-kun has yet to fully recover."

"He's healthy enough to go for a morning walk, he's healthy enough to train," Kakashi eye-smiled.

Yugao merely narrowed her eyes, before crossing her arms over her chest and nodding. "Very well, I will oversee your method of training."

"No…breakfast?" Fu mumbled then, gazing quizzically around.

"Tsunami-san isn't here," Tenten remarked gently, watching the downcast expression of the tanned girl with a soft gaze. "We can find something to eat at the village."

"All right," Fu nodded, before smiling brightly towards Shinku and the rest of the team. "See you later guys, Shinku-kun!" and then the three were off.

"You spoke of a meadow, right?" Kakashi queried, "Make way."

Shinku nodded, and soon they headed off straight back where he had helped Haku gather the herbs.

"Today's lesson was especially prepared for my cute little Genin," Kakashi began in a bored tone. There was a moment of silence, as everyone waited for the silver-haired Jounin to speak. "It is a lesson of trust, wits and skills…which you will all undoubtedly fail."

Then Kakashi closed his Icha-Icha, and grinned.

"Try to kill each other."

Naruko blinked. Sasuke stared. Shinku raised an eyebrow.

"W-What?" Naruko croaked out. "Kakashi-Nii? What are you…"

"Hatake-san, this is…"

"This is perfectly within regulations," Kakashi smiled back at Yugao.

"This…have you been Anbu training them?" Yugao hissed. "That's for Anbu's trainee workout, not for Genin students!"

"Mah, mah," Kakashi shrugged. "They're grown up, they can take it."

He giggled then. "The deal is simple. Try to kill each other. The winner gets…" he looked at Naruko, "She'll get the Rasengan," Naruko's eyes widened. "You'll get training in utilizing the Mangekyou, and Itachi's Anbu uniform…I still have it, you know?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and then Kakashi looked at Shinku with his single eye gazing hard at him.

"And for you…you get to keep the Chuunin flak jacket as an actual promotion on the battlefield."

Kakashi hummed. "Of course, if I were to stop you from killing each other it would be problematic, because you wouldn't go all out so…I will not intervene, and neither will Uzuki-san."

"Hatake-san, this is…"

"You want me to test your training, Uzuki-san?" Kakashi's voice snapped at the woman hard, making Yugao wince.

"Very well," Kakashi nodded then, "now…this might seem like the primary objective is to 'kill' each other…the truth is that you should aim to '_survive'_ until the end."

Then he blinked. "Course, unless there's blood spraying around I won't be sure you actually killed each other so do try and make the wounds deep, all right?"

"Kakashi-Nii, I'm not going to do this," Naruko huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're a team, we stick together."

"Yes, Kakashi 'sensei'," Sasuke spat out, "This is bullshit. There is no way any of us would accept."

Shinku nodded awkwardly at the end.

"Well then, if that's how you want to play it…" Kakashi twirled a kunai out of his pouch. "I'll just have to fight you three together then."

The next moment, Shinku found himself pushed down by Sasuke, as a blade sliced the air straight where his head would have been a moment before.

A few strands of black hair fell right on the tip of Shinku's nose, as he watched the gleefully humming Kakashi twirl another kunai in his other hand.

"I'll be coming at you with the intent to kill. Try to survive!"

"Kakashi-Nii!" a kick slammed into Naruko's guts, sending her to fly backwards and fall against the ground. The girl rolled before jumping back on her feet, creating four Kage-Bunshin. "That hurt!"

"That would have ruptured the stomach of Shinku-kun," Kakashi remarked with a bright smile. "Well, next kick is on him then."

With speed, a punch sailed straight for Sasuke's jaw rather than for Shinku's stomach, sending the Uchiha to crash on the ground hard.

The four Bunshin charged ahead then, Naruko herself in the midst of the fray. Shinku gripped his own kunai.

What was he…

_**Enemy Jounin. Run.**_

_But that's…_

Shinku's eyes widened for a fraction, before he gripped on Sasuke's side and pulled him back up. "We need to leave," he hissed, his voice coarse. "Now."

Kakashi hummed from his spot, dispatching the Bunshin and then slamming Naruko's real body against the back of the two other Genin. The blunt impact of the blow collided against Shinku's back, sending him to tumble down on the ground and taste the earth with his mouth, his eyes closed.

Suddenly, he felt grabbed by the ankles and pulled away, back into the fray. A kick slammed into his sides —he didn't even get to stand back up— as he rolled and ended up face up as a kunai came down for his chest.

He pushed his elbow against the ground, turning to the side and then gripping on Kakashi's ankle with his left hand. His right pushed forth for a cheap shot in the man's 'low' regions, as the kunai ended the trajectory straight against Shinku's back.

The flak jacket protected him, as Kakashi chose to replace his body with a log rather than suffer a punch in the nuts —one Shinku would have gladly given him.

Taking little jumps to the sides, Kakashi pushed through once more. This time Sasuke intercepted him with a punch coming from below, soon followed by Naruko from the upper side opposite the Uchiha. The blood sprayed thinly as ninja wire emerged from Kakashi's wrists, tightening around both extended limbs.

Shinku's hand flung the kunai in his palm then, sending it straight for the Jounin's chest.

Eye-smiling, Kakashi gripped on Naruko and pulled her forward as a shield.

The kunai pierced straight through the girl's jumpsuit, spraying rivulets of blood out of it as she gasped.

"My, hitting your teammates on the back…that's not nice at all Shinku-kun," Kakashi mock-said, before slamming the girl back like a ragdoll —straight to impact against Sasuke's form.

The two knocked down once more, Shinku ground his teeth.

The air suddenly thickened as Kakashi's hand went to his sharingan eye. The next moment, Shinku stared at two eyes, one of which held a spinning tomoe…and then he was there, with Kakashi chuckling and pulling his hands in a Kage Bunshin move.

"I'm going to enjoy torturing the dead last," he acquiesced, before delivering a spinning kick with one of his clones against him. It felt slow however, slow enough he actually could dodge it. This had to be a Genjutsu, but it was so obvious it actually perplexed him.

Biting down on his lips, he watched the Kage Bunshin wane as the real Kakashi remained behind. Both Sasuke and Naruko had meanwhile stood up once more, growling and eying the silver-haired Jounin with distaste.

"Shin-chan, you still alive?"

"Yeah," he acquiesced.

"We need a plan, Dobe," Sasuke muttered. "Got anything?"

"Uhm…Kakashi-Nii with the sharingan? Can't you bring out yours too, Sasuke?"

"You're joking," Sasuke remarked. "I'm not pulling it out for this. Why don't you use the Kyuubi then?"

"The Kyuubi for training, are you the one mad?"

"Mah, mah children," Kakashi sighed. "This is why I'm going for the kill you see," he remarked. "If you won't train with what you've been gifted, then I just have to force you to use it," he added. "You both have an enormous potential…but every time, it takes too much to convince you to use it. A single Genjutsu weaved with the sharingan could end a threat far faster than trying to deal with it…without it."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side. "You still refuse to take things seriously, but you know that in the end this will just bite you back, right? How do you expect to train the Kyuubi if you refuse to try and use its powers, Naruko?"

Then he turned to Sasuke. "And you, what of the Mangekyou? You could have easily avoided most blows with the Susanoo…right?"

Sasuke spat to the side, eying Kakashi warily. "You have gifts and yet you refuse to use them," the Jounin sighed. "It's not good at all…" exhaling, the man shrugged. "Guess there's no choice then. I'll really have to nearly kill one of you."

Then he turned towards Shinku. "I'm going to step up the training right now, Shinku-kun…I hope you remember your words in the forest of Death…because now we're going to see how much you really meant them."

Then he was gone.

Literally, he flickered away without a sound.

Yugao watched the scene uncomfortably for a moment more, and then her hair began to sizzle and stand up straight. He wouldn't dare…he wouldn't…

The noise of a thousand birds soon rose in the air. Shinku knew what it was about…he knew because he remembered it. The man couldn't be…

"Three little pigs are out in the open," Kakashi remarked. "Three little pigs I'm going to slaughter…"

The blood rushed through his body and towards his ear as his heart drummed faster than ever, his breathing ragged and his eyes wide in fear. He trembled, the air growing heavier and heavier with each passing instant.

"There are many spots I can aim for," Kakashi hummed from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "The neck, the heart, the chest, the spine…the kidneys…how many I wonder can I hit in a single blow?"

"Kakashi-Nii?" Naruko's trembling stopped after a few seconds, replaced with her frozen form in fear. Sasuke too ground his teeth.

"Are you going to intervene or what!?" he snapped towards Yugao, who merely looked with her impassive gaze back at the Uchiha, before replying.

"If things get out of hand…but Hatake-san has always been faster than anyone else in Anbu. I might not make it in time so…"

"Run," Shinku croaked out. "Run. _Run_. _**Run**_."

In that moment, the noise grew even heavier as Kakashi charged from the side with his lightning cutter aimed straight for…Sasuke's chest.

The boy's eyes turned to the Mangekyou, as the Susanoo's form appeared —slamming away both Naruko and Shinku due to its massive size.

Shinku brought both hands to his face as the strength of the blow made him roll on the ground and crash against an exposed root, taking the breath out of his mouth.

Kakashi's Raikiri sailed then past Sasuke, slightly diverting its trajectory and aiming at Naruko in mid-air.

The girl puffed away in a cloud of smoke seconds before the technique could wound her and thus…thus the Jounin aimed at him, barely back on his knees.

He had less than a second to think about a solution, about anything that would not leave him skewered on the ground. When everything went down…what could he count on?

A schizophrenic second personality could not help him divert a Raikiri. He needed something, anything that could keep him alive when everything went to hell like in that instant. Something…

He charged ahead.

With his speed, it simply looked as if he had stood up ready to take the blow of the Raikiri with his body.

The pain he felt was beyond mention as the electricity crushed through his shoulder and burnt flesh sizzled. Shinku screamed as his body pulled itself forward with the kunai still firmly in his right hand, aiming for Kakashi's neck.

In that single instant, everything seemed to slow down as Shinku's breathing eased. There was a strange sound, as if something tore right next to him. He sliced at Kakashi's neck uncaring of the pain —he wasn't even feeling it— and then, abruptly, it stopped.

His left arm was on the ground.

The man had torn apart his left arm with training.

His left arm was on the ground, twitching.

His left arm.

His left.

Genjutsu. It had to be a Genjutsu. It had to be a frigging Genjutsu. His left arm was tied to his body; it wasn't there on the ground.

_**Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai. Kai.**_

It was a Genjutsu; it had to be a Genjutsu.

That single instant of outright fear turned to rage when he realized that he hadn't even hit the real Kakashi, but a Kage Bunshin. He wasn't bleeding out, but…he felt so tired and…

"Shinku!" Sasuke's scream merely reached his ears as a dulled out whisper, his Susanoo disappearing as Shinku's sight grew progressively dark.

This was a Genjutsu… Why couldn't he break free?

_**Kai. Kai. KAI. DAMN YOU! KAI!**_

"Shin-chan!" Naruko was near him in an instant, but by then it was too late. Kakashi reappeared with his right leg extended, intent on slamming it down on Naruko's side of the face. Shinku pushed her backward, the kick shattering his right hand and dropping him on the ground once ore. He gasped for air as he breathed in deeply, the pain running through his body like hot needles.

_**Why the hell did you do that! WHY!?**_

_Teammates as shields…is a no._

_**Damn! Roll back!**_

His eyes widened as Kakashi's feet came down to crush his face, but it stilled as an arrow of purple chakra forced him to dodge to the side. Sasuke grunted, panting hard as his eyes kept on the Mangekyou, the Susanoo having fired the bolt dispersing again into the air.

Naruko growled, about to charge ahead once more…

"Run!" Shinku spat out, "_Just run god-damn it!_"

"Uh?" Naruko's perplexed face lasted until Kakashi jumped back into the fray, slamming a knee into the girl's chest and throwing her backwards, right next to Sasuke's panting form.

Then, leisurely, the Jounin began to walk towards Shinku.

"Sacrificing your shoulder to avoid damage to your internal organs takes guts," Kakashi acquiesced.

_**This is a Genjutsu. This is a Genjutsu. This is a Genjutsu. Break out of this Shinku. Break out. Out. Out…**_

He was into the air then, Kakashi holding him by the throat.

"Kakashi-Nii! Let him go!" Naruko exclaimed, "He needs a hospital!"

Where had he heard that sentence again?

"Naruko, Sasuke," Kakashi remarked dryly. "Fight each other or Shinku dies."

Why was he doing this? Why was he…

Naruko clenched her fists, before turning to stare at Sasuke who looked bitterly towards Kakashi. The two Genin slammed both of her fists at the same time against one another, while Kakashi watched holding a kunai to the side of Shinku's neck.

"Now don't move," Kakashi remarked, "Wouldn't want the kunai to actually kill you."

As if the blood loss or the shock wouldn't…wait.

_Wait a moment_.

_**THE. BASTARD.**_

A sharp thrust of his neck forward made him gurgle, as he closed his eyes shut with all the strength he could muster.

The next instant, his vision came back. He growled, gazing at Kakashi who simply watched him with a leisurely smile on his lips —hidden by the mask as always.

"Mah, mah," Kakashi muttered, gazing at him. "Already out?"

"Already?" he hissed, his left hand clenching tightly. "_**Already**_?" he snarled, eying him murderously. _**"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Do you call this teaching, seeing my life flash in front of me time and time again!? What is it, is there some sort of twisted sadistic desire for torture that gets you off, you bastard!?"**_

Kakashi smiled.

"As I said before…_you're already out?_"

Shinku's spit caught in his throat. He couldn't be referring to…

"_**When…**_"

"That's for me to know," Kakashi smiled brightly. "It is a normal reaction however, a coping mechanism to stress…I speak to a tomb regularly, thinking of it as a real person who answers back…so I can understand. As long as you realize that you aren't actually two different persons, it can be used as a boon in battle all the same."

"_**Where are…"**_

"Knocked them out, really…when I'm coming at you with the intent to kill, Sasuke should immediately reveal his sharingan. Afterwards, he should keep both you and Naruko in his line of sight —the sharingan can remove illusions from others as long as there is visibility, you know? Nifty trick right there to solve all of your Genjutsu problems…" Kakashi sighed. "But no, nobody takes training seriously these days…really."

"_**Maybe if you weren't such a slacking bastard and actually taught us,"**_ Shinku snarled.

"Really? And what should I teach two prodigies and a dead-last, uh? Do you want to learn a Katon? You'd burn yourself at the second try. I could teach it to Naruko, and she'd turn to cinder the forest because the girl —no matter how much I consider her my sister— is too stupid to realize the actual length of her potential. Give her a cinder and she'll burn down a forest."

Shinku cocked his head to the side.

"_**What am I then, your anti-stress? You think it's easy to see death coming up front to you? And what about sacrificing me and me having no value, uh? Really! What are you expecting, pity?"**_

"Sasuke could learn any technique if only he activated his sharingan," Kakashi remarked. "With true will, they'd both be Jounin by the age of fifteen…I can sense that… by training hard I became a shinobi at Five and a Chuunin at Six. By the time I was thirteen, I was already a Jounin. I didn't have the sharingan then, my father wasn't anything special. He was the white fang, but did he have any special bloodline, or skill? No, he didn't," Kakashi's eyes narrowed on him. "He was just a very good shinobi."

"_**You finished having your trip in memory lane, where at the end you tell me I suck and I'd be better off dead or something like that?"**_

Kakashi chuckled. "Contrary to what you think, I don't really hate you Shinku-kun. If anything, I'm glad I have such a funny little Genin in my team."

"_**Excuse me if I find nothing of funny in this," **_Shinku snarled.

"So this is how you moved through the killing intent of a Jounin, uh," Kakashi remarked calmly, changing argument as he took a step forward. "You didn't actually move, but you let someone else move for you."

"_**It was a matter of survival," **_Shinku hissed, "But now…" he coughed and then exhaled, trembling slightly.

"Uhm," Kakashi smiled closing both eyes, "Well, Shinku-kun…you heard us talk?"

"Y-Yes sensei," he nodded quickly. "P-Please don't tell anyone?"

"Oh? And why not?" Kakashi cocked his head to the side, carefully putting his forehead protector back to cover his sharingan.

"B-Because it's not…normal."

"We aren't the definition of normality around here, you know," Kakashi deadpanned with a light snicker, before slowly bringing his right hand down to pat on Shinku's head. "You're doing very well, you know this?"

"A-Ah…I…" stuttering, Shinku remained quiet as the hand of his sensei kept on patting him as if he were a dog.

"Good, good," Kakashi smiled. "Have a treat."

Shinku gazed at him with a narrow gaze, but Kakashi just kept up smiling.

"I'm not a dog."

"Oh, so you can speak too, very well," Kakashi chuckled, stopping the petting. "Now, while Uzuki-san is busy keeping an eye on your two teammates, we need to finish our late night chat."

Shinku frowned, gazing at him.

"You understand I'm pressing on you because you're the weakest link, right?"

"Y-Yes," Shinku nodded grimly, "B-but assassination is…"

"I have to ask," Kakashi wondered, "Why did you keep on telling Naruko and Sasuke to run? Well, the ones of the Genjutsu at least…"

"You're a Jounin," he softly muttered. "There's a difference between risking one's life for a mission…and going suicidal."

"You're the only one who believed I'd actually go for a kill though, even Sasuke got caught by not taking it seriously."

Shinku gazed sideways. "You _are_ a psychotic madman…it was hard not to believe you."

Kakashi hummed his agreement.

"You threw yourself at the kunai to end the Genjutsu, right? What gave it away?"

"Yeah," he acquiesced. "The pain didn't last."

"Uh?"

"The pain…it's a dull and continuous throbbing. It never ceases. Every movement you make, every instant, every second…you feel the limb hurt you in some way. It can only go down but…every tiny movement makes it a hell on earth."

"You're referring to the Forest of Death experience?"

"Yes," he acquiesced.

"That was because of the infection and the bad healing, generally it isn't meant to hurt after the nerves go dead from the electric shock."

"Ah," Shinku blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. An expert shinobi would have been fooled into believing the attack actually connected because he no longer felt pain, rather than because he felt it."

"Oh," Shinku looked to the side.

"What…" he mumbled then, "What about Tsunami?"

Kakashi exhaled. "Well, I did lie on knowing where she went. Maybe she went to Gato, maybe she didn't…if she didn't come back she's most certainly dead however," he shrugged. "That is none of our business."

Shinku nodded quietly.

"You should tell the rest of your team," Kakashi remarked then, "About your…little problem."

"Right;" Shinku muttered, "So we'll all have our good little moment of team hugging again," he mumbled shaking his head. "I'll pass on that."

Kakashi shrugged. "Don't make it a big deal, every shinobi worth his salt has a quirk. I know someone who doesn't go anywhere without screaming 'Yosh' at least a few dozen times."

"Right," Shinku blinked, "What of Gai-san?"

"What of him?"

"When is he coming?"

"Good question."

"We need him to complete the bridge;" Shinku deadpanned. Kakashi just hummed thoughtfully.

"Maybe he'll be here tomorrow…"

"Hatake-san," Yugao flickered into the meadow. "I would run if I were you."

"Uh?"

"_KAKASHI-NIII_!" Naruko screamed as she charged, clearly angry for some reason, soon followed by Sasuke.

Kakashi disappeared faster than Shinku could blink.

Yugao gazed at Shinku then, and handed over a nice round cookie. "Here," as his mouth mechanically began to chew over the pastry, his mind grumbled.

He wasn't a dog!

Still, the chocolate was good…and it didn't hurt anyone.

**Author's notes**

**Underneath the underneath lies an underneath made of underneath.**

**That said, I thought Naruto was born on the 31…dunno the reason my brain believed that. The official date is the tenth of October though —my mistake, sorry.**


	33. Unquestionable Realizations

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tsunami did not return for lunch and as such, Naruko gripped both Shinku and Sasuke's sleeves firmly as she pulled them across the countryside all the way to the beach.

The sound of the waves crashing against the sand easily drowned that of the girl's words, as she extracted a small scroll while mumbling something about 'reserves' and 'dark times'.

"I have enough for four days," she muttered, "Considering a lunch of ramen and a dinner of dry meat."

"We could always eat fish, Bimbo," Sasuke remarked. "We're near the water after all."

The thick smell of oil reached Shinku's nostrils as he grimaced. This time, it mixed with the smell of rotten fish that was practically a natural presence in the area. Near the shore as it was, it simply increased in its stench.

"Shin-chan, you've got nothing in those pockets?"

Shinku blinked, before starting to check them out. There was the usual shinobi assortment of kunai, shuriken, ninja wire and normal every-mission tools. They were of a better quality than those he normally had, but apart from that…

"Nothing edible," he mumbled. He did have his melted chocolate bar in his jacket's pocket however, which was beneath his flak jacket. Maybe he could throw that away, just to be on the safe side.

"So it's ramen," Naruko remarked, "Ramen and dry meat."

"I'll try and get a fish, Bimbo," Sasuke grumbled.

"With what fishing rod? You're going to tie a string to your little Uchiha and then dangle it around?" Naruko retorted with a curt tone, holding a small smile on her lips. "You want to kill the fishes by flashing at them, Teme?"

"Dobe," Sasuke growled, "Want to try and use your power of stupid?"

Shinku's hands trembled slightly, before he exhaled. "I…" he muttered. "I lied before," he croaked out. Naruko and Sasuke both blinked, before gazing at him.

"So, you have food?" Naruko asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why were you keeping it then? If it's chocolate though, we can save that for later you know!"

"No, not about that," he muttered. "I…I know where Tsunami went," he breathed in deeply. "I was with Kakashi-sensei…he knew and he told me."

"Uh, so why didn't he tell Tazuna-san?" Naruko asked once more. Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, before the Uchiha raised an eyebrow as if waiting for Shinku to continue his tale.

"Because Tsunami might…have gone to Gato," Shinku stuttered out. "And if she did…she might already be dead."

"Ohi now," Naruko exclaimed, "That's a bit of a…"

"That…" Sasuke closed his eyes, "That bastard. _He let her go_. What the hell was he hoping to pull?"

"I don't know," Shinku mumbled. He held his tongue on the rest of the speech.

"_Why_ did he tell you?" Naruko asked then, warily gazing at him. "Why you?" there was a light bitter tone in her voice. "I mean, why didn't he tell us too that night? He just sent us to sleep and then got you and told you…why?"

"You would have gone to save her, right?" Shinku said back, with his gaze downcast. "Risking a war, risking your lives, you would have tried to save her from Gato, right?"

"Of course we would!" Naruko yelled, "That's obvious! They couldn't keep her or kill her and if we—"

"Dobe, shut up," Sasuke snapped, before gazing at him hard. "So, Kakashi called you out, told you what was going on, and then you kept quiet rather than tell us or Tazuna. You even went for a morning walk rather than try and find out more…you simply let it be, didn't you?"

"What did you expect me to do? Charge in kunai in hand?" Shinku retorted.

"We have an Anbu-observer in the team! You could have talked to her!" Naruko yelled at him.

"So I should have risked her life, the start of war, the deaths of hundreds or even thousands, because of a woman who couldn't accept reality!?" Shinku snarled back, standing up and clenching his fists. "I even know what's going to happen when the bridge will be completed, they told me and I have to keep it a secret from everyone else! It's torturing me, but I can't tell anyone…" his eyes closed shut. "_**And here I am, blabbering it all out like an imbecile…**_" he slapped a hand to his mouth, but it was too late.

Naruko frowned, before growling and taking a step forward.

"What? What's going to happen!? Shin-chan, you have to tell us! We're a team, aren't we!?"

"If he's been ordered not to tell, he shouldn't," Sasuke stated plainly. "If it's a test of Kakashi's, he'll fail it. If it isn't, then he'd simply deliver us something we aren't meant to know and that our 'sensei'," Sasuke snorted with disdain, "Doesn't think we should know."

"Shin-chan, come on;" Naruko prodded him, "We're your teammates."

Shinku remained quiet. He had said too much.

"Don't be a coward and tell me!" Naruko yelled then, gripping his jacket. "What did Kakashi-Nii say!? What's going to happen now!? Come on! You have to tell us! I would if Kakashi-Nii had told me! Say something!" she pulled him back and forth, but Shinku pushed her away to get free, before biting his lips and shaking his head.

"You're a spineless coward! Come on! Say something! Anything!"

"I shouldn't have said anything to begin with," he muttered back.

"Ah no, no, no and no once more Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, pulling her right hand forward to grip at his jacket's folds. "You're not getting away until you tell me!"

"Dobe let it be!" Sasuke said, "He said more than enough. Come on…stop it."

"I'm not going to give you any ramen if you don't say something, Shin-chan," Naruko said with a warning tone. "I'm not kidding uh! I'm not!"

Shinku remained silent.

Naruko's growling grew louder, before she closed her eyes and exhaled once, deeply. Then, the pushed him away with enough strength to send him barrelling on the sand.

"I'm not sharing food with a coward who can't even trust his friends."

"Dobe…"

"I'm done talking. _We_ are going to eat Ramen. _He_ can try and fish something with his dead-last, incapable of doing anything skills!"

Sasuke gave him a sorry look, as the girl appeared firm in her proposal.

"It's all right," Shinku muttered from his spot on the sand, slowly standing up and taking a deep breath. He wasn't going to cry for something like this. He had called it down on himself to begin with.

Shinku simply turned and began to walk away.

"Yeah, that's right! Walk away in silence you pathetic bastard!" Naruko's eyes began to water as Shinku disappeared back into the village. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "You better be sorry next time we see each other! Maybe you'll have ramen then!"

She sniffled. Sasuke exhaled and slowly brought a hand to his face. "You really had to go and say all of that, right?"

"You heard him! He has no idea what it means to be a team player! He has no idea!" Naruko sniffled some more.

"You are a reckless idiot," Sasuke deadpanned. "No matter how much I dislike it, Kakashi's words are still those of a Jounin and his words are law out of Konoha…Shinku could land in hot waters for saying something he wasn't even supposed to say to begin with."

"I don't care," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You helping me get a fire going to boil the water, or you try flashing the fishes?"

"I'll find some wood," Sasuke muttered.

Shinku, meanwhile, was holding his tears inside. He had been stupid and reckless…and now this had happened. Well, he couldn't go back and erase it, and changing the past or memories was beyond his abilities.

He walked back into the village, his gaze low. After a few steps, he heard a few noises up ahead, and soon his eyes rose to catch up with the square filled with people he had ended up in. Hanging from a rope was a corpse, the crows and the seagulls pecking it repeatedly to the point where even the face was unrecognizable.

"To the sides," Shinku muttered, his eyes snapping to his sides. There were only civilians, a few mumbling about 'the poor girl' and 'just like Kaiza'. The body's arms had been cleanly cut, their extremities sewed then back together in a pleading gesture and _emerging_ from her body. The worst was how her tattered dress wasn't made of normal cloth, but of flailed skin.

Shinku felt sick.

A hand to his mouth, he closed his eyes sharply and breathed. He clenched his free hand in a fist and opened his eyes once more, grounding his teeth furiously as he forced the bile back down his stomach.

That was a body.

A failure of someone who couldn't survive. Like in the cave, it was nothing that could kill him. He couldn't show any weakness, or he would die. His eyes narrowed, as he carefully took the optimal option.

_He walked away_. He wasn't going to get mixed into this. He'd let…

"What the hell!?" Hibachi yelled. Shinku widened his eyes. Team Four had to be at the bridge protecting Tazuna, not at the square. If they were there… his eyes sharply moved to where Tazuna actually was, with Hibachi's team escorting him. Ami brought a hand to her mouth and then retched to the side, soon joined by Kota. Their Jounin looked slightly shaken by the scene, before regaining her composure.

She was the one who stepped forward.

"What is going on?" she asked softly, passing through the crowd and reaching for the centre of the square where the corpse hung. Silently, a Kirigakure shinobi —the one wielding the thin sword— appeared from his hiding spot.

"Caught stealing," the voice, like a cracked disk, spoke. "Punished."

"Stealing? From Gato? Was she mad?" a few women whispered to one another, holding their hands tightly to their chests. Their voices were low, but he was passing right behind them so he heard the snippets.

"Just like Kaiza, the poor man…you think it's Tsunami?"

"I hope not…Tazuna wouldn't survive the shock…"

Shinku's eyes met with those of the Kimono-wearing girl from the Chemist shop, who was watching the scene with apathy for but a single instant, before her eyes filled with fear. Fear at seeing him gaze at her normal face.

A normal, cold and uncaring face had been what his eyes had seen, the one of a hunter, not a prey. He wasn't fooled. He couldn't be…because he was the same.

It had been a second.

But he wasn't like his outer self.

Her kimono, when put next to those of the nearby street women, was too new, too clean and too good. Even a whore nearby didn't have one as good as hers, and that was what cinched it in his mind. He began to push through the crowd, heading in the opposite direction and towards Tazuna.

The Kimono girl followed him then, her face now cold and her eyes narrow at least in Shinku's imagination. Maybe she had left for somewhere else, maybe she was pursuing him, but in any event he would move closer to the rest of the Genin. There was safety in numbers.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, reaching for the trio of Genin. Hibachi was the first to recover, looking at him with disdain.

"Someone came to tell us of a corpse in the square, and…"

"Is that Tsunami?" Tazuna said with his voice cracked, "Is that my daughter?"

"No," Shinku replied curtly. "Now get back to the bridge."

"We don't take orders from you," Hibachi hissed.

"I'm your superior on the field," Shinku retorted. "You _do_ and you brought the man you were supposed to protect somewhere he isn't meant to be. Now bring him back to the bridge, Genin."

"Being with the big guns rotted your head, Shinku?" Hibachi grumbled. "Tell me, did you have to suck the Uchiha's dick to get where—"

Hibachi was slow.

He hadn't really realized it until that moment. This wasn't Shinku, scared of hurting someone else during a spar and wincing while staying on the defensive. This wasn't Shinku, dead-last of the academy, who barely scraped by.

This was Shinku, who wanted them to move so he could have an excuse to follow them out of the area. This was _**Shinku**_, who had a psychopathic sensei and enough anger fuelling through his body that it didn't matter what Hibachi thought or wanted…they would follow _**his**_ lead, because _**he**_ was stronger.

His fist struck Hibachi straight in the throat, sending him to gurgle as the boy's hands gripped his neck. The Genin coughed and rasped, but Shinku held on to the brat's throat.

"I gave you an order to move," Shinku snarled. "If you can't follow it, stop being a shinobi and go back to your parents' house playing with dolls," with that he pushed Hibachi on the ground without a second thought, before curtly gripping onto Tazuna's arm. "We're going back to the bridge, it's not safe here."

"That's…that's really not my daughter?" Tazuna looked at him, his eyes filled with hope.

"She isn't," he replied firmly, albeit he knew he was lying through his teeth because _he had no idea at all._ "Move you two," he snapped towards Kota and Ami, "Hibachi can stay here if he likes it so much."

He knew he was going to get in hot waters with the Jounin-sensei of Team Four afterwards. He just knew it, but still…anywhere was better than that place. Behind him, unseen and unheard, Haku disappeared in a flicker. He had seen enough to make an informed guess…and he was probably right with his results.

Zabuza was calmly cleaning his sword when Haku returned —still wearing his kimono.

"Zabuza-sama," Haku said, "I have completed my observations."

"So? What is your final assessment?"

"The Jounin Sharingan No Kakashi is beyond my expertise. Of the other Jounin, the woman with purple hair sensed me before I could get in an optimal position for a shot, but I managed to slip by unnoticed right next to the other one, the brown-haired woman in charge of the first team that came to Wave."

"What of the boy? Anything special? You don't get into a team with the Yondaime's daughter and an Uchiha without something to pull you through the ringer."

"I think…" Haku bit his lips, before replying with his tone extremely serious, "I think he is an Anbu."

"Oh?" Zabuza raised an eyebrow, before chuckling. "What makes you think that?"

"He acts like a harmless boy, smiling and speaking little. He looks unthreatening and yet remained standing after training with Sharingan No Kakashi from what I could observe. His teammates both fell on the ground knocked out, yet he held his ground fighting with extreme prowess and bringing the Jounin to a standstill even…and he slips in and out of his work mode whenever there's a threat. He slipped while seeing the corpse; his eyes had that dark glint only murderers share."

"Uhm," Zabuza hummed thoughtful, holding back a chuckle, "Then?"

"He immediately brought to safety the bridge builder before I could try and assassinate him while under the Konoha's Ninjas protection… and I think there's one more Jounin who has yet to arrive. They called him 'Gai', and from what I heard he is supposed to be here before the end of the day, or by tomorrow."

"Another Jounin further complicates things," Zabuza grumbled. "Yagura really wants his alliance with Iwa to work…but we can't fall into another war without being on the right side for once —the Samurai won't let it slide like last time and Kumo and Suna would do short work of us…especially after the last war and the Sanbi's predecessor's fate…"

"I could take the hidden Anbu out by surprise however," Haku said then, "I am confident in my skills Zabuza-sama. Let me take him out… with one Anbu less, there would be…"

"The Jinchuuriki are an even greater nuisance," Zabuza mumbled. "We need to take those out first…" the man grumbled, closing his eyes. "No, it's too much of a chore right now…we'll try this at another place. Try to get the Konoha Genin to make a mistake. One of them is bound to be a hot-blooded idiot… you will exploit that to cause a diplomatic incident. We of Kiri believe in an eye for an eye after all…" Zabuza smiled. "And more times than not, we claim more than our due."

Haku nodded. He just knew the person.

Hibachi was not having a good day. Not only had the Dead-Last passed him by, but also he had all but wrestled control of the team from him, the —admittedly self-appointed— team leader of Team Four. The worse was that their sensei had wholeheartedly agreed with his classmate's opinion of getting away from the square!

Really! How unfair could someone be when it was a friend of the 'Uchiha' clan and of the daughter of the Yondaime doing things? He received harsh criticism for half the things he did and yet, apparently, nothing Shinku did could be wrong.

Even Ami hung to him, asking questions about Sasuke's favourite food while Kota insisted about getting to know the Sharingan's abilities. Shinku didn't even answer, his _snob_ attitude not deterring his teammates even once from pestering him.

The boy gazed at him once more, and Hibachi spat to his side and turned to look away —just staring at Shinku made him angry. If he had ended up with the _awesome_ team, he wouldn't have lied about it being uncool or a chore.

The boy had the guts of lying to him, saying it meant nothing and was nothing more than a hassle or a nightmare. Grounding his teeth, Hibachi looked over once more, to where the Jounin of his team, Mai-sensei, was talking with Shinku in a low whispered voice. The way the boy behaved, already acting all buddy-buddy with his sensei, as if he belonged into the flak jacket, made blood rush to his head. How dared he!?

"Hibachi!" his sensei called him, and suddenly he realized what was going on. Shinku was getting revenge on him. For some reason or another, the boy had decided to make his life hell. Well, he wasn't going to take it standing down —oh no! He was going to show the dead last just who was…

"Have you been talking with a slender girl, raven hair and a bright new kimono?" Mai asked him curtly, as his ears began to burn. She was probably referring to Haku. What was the problem if he talked with a cute girl? She worked at the chemist shop and had a pretty kimono and…she had beautiful slender hands and pale rose lips.

"Yeah, so what?" he drawled back.

"What did you tell her?" Mai asked once more.

"Nothing much," Hibachi shrugged, "Just small talk."

"About what? When I ask you a question I want a clear answer, young man!"

"Why are you asking me this, sensei!? Whatever the dead last is saying doesn't matter anyway! He's got his head filled with—"

"Your neck is starting to bruise," Shinku remarked dryly. "Shut up and answer, Hibachi."

"I can take it from here, Haruno-kun," Mai replied, "You can go and warn the other teams."

Shinku nodded, before turning to leave. He walked once more through the square, exhaling in relief —the corpse was no longer there, they had probably taken it down.

He moved past, towards the direction of the beach where he hoped his two teammates still were —he'd warn them, before moving on. Nothing prohibited him from being professional after all.

The beach was devoid of life however.

There was no one, and on the ground, the scattered remains of a fire pit and cooked ramen stood as a sign of Naruko's passage. The girl had eaten at least half a dozen of ramen cups —where did she pack it all to begin with?

One cup remained close, with a Naruko drawing on it that seemed to be giving the reader a 'sticking the tongue out' message. It remained unopened atop a light metallic grid, and beneath it were the words.

_I clearly forgot this here by mistake! Clearly, I have no need to eat this too and I will leave it as an offering to the seagulls!_

His lips actually twitched into a light smile. He'd make his excuses the moment he saw them. There was no need to hold a grudge over something he had no power on…and he'd tell them the entire story. In for a Ryo, in for a thousand of Ryos went the proverb.

Shinku opened the steaming ramen cup and ate. The chopsticks weren't far off on the sand —yet carefully wrapped in a paper napkin. He smiled as he slurped down on the treat. In his 'taking charge' he had completely forgotten about having lunch. The moment he was done, he began to clean around. The cups were dropped one on top of the other and then pushed to the side next to an already big pile of refuse —made mostly of rotten fishes— which was both the source of the horrid smell and the 'garbage dump' of the beach.

He began to wait for his teammates to return —they couldn't have gone far, leaving that ramen-cup behind like that. It took him five minutes of silence…before his ears picked up a sound.

A low rumbling came from further away, just past a curve on the sandy beach. He remembered that sound. It was the sound of chakra so powerful it could lash at the very air while making strange noises as it cut the wind. It was the Kyuubi's, so filled with malice and hatred that his own blood froze from the mere thought it could have been freed...and not just because of what it would entail.

He ran, holding his breath short as he pushed past the sandy ground and into the water, standing atop of it as he gained speed with his skiing on its surface. He saw it then…and he cursed under his breath.

Standing a good distance away from shore on an icy surface surrounded by floating icebergs, was the Anbu-masked boy of the Kirigakure team. He held senbon needles in his hands and was currently throwing them…at Naruko, who tried to charge at the Kirigakure shinobi.

Sasuke instead was on the shore, his body upwards and his entire frame still. Needles emerged from his skin and muscles, glinting in the light as the boy's body remained still and…dead.

For once, Shinku hoped this was simply an illusion. The roars and the screams however…they all felt and were real.

"YOU BASTARD!" Naruko's extended chakra arm slammed in the floating iceberg that moved to block the way to the masked Anbu, making it sizzle and burn away as the giant ice cube soon became mist. The mist then morphed into ice lances that shot right back at the girl while another iceberg formed, hence repeating the cycle.

Shinku made his way towards the shore then, reaching for Sasuke's body as his hand moved to the boy's neck for a pulse. Standard Academy first aid was all about checking the pulse, but with the noise of the battlefield and his heart drumming in his chest…

The senbon needles were made of ice. He realized that after a few seconds spent wondering over their strange form.

They were crystalline and transparent; the sun itself had already melted a few of them down into small puddles on Sasuke's chest. _This_ was everything Kakashi had said could happen. The enemy had caught them by surprise and, rather than immediately fight back with everything, Sasuke had gone down before activating the Mangekyou.

After that, Naruko had gone Kyuubi but was already losing her mind to her rage.

Wonderful, so this was precisely what that bastard of a sensei wanted.

He wanted him as the intermediary between the two and _the rest of the frigging world_. He wanted someone who had no qualms lying, getting his hands dirty or stopping the other two when things went south. Kakashi wanted an over glorified babysitter to step in when things went sour like in this case.

He couldn't just run away now, Kakashi had been pretty clear on the consequences…but he couldn't even start a war over it.

The ice was soon going to melt from the needles, and then…why remain then? There was…

"Naruko!" Shinku's eyes widened, "Come back here now!" he yelled.

The girl didn't hear him, incensed as she was and growling.

If Sasuke died without any wounds on his body and Naruko was the one found attacking the Kirigakure Anbu…this would explain why the shinobi was taking time rather than dealing with Naruko immediately.

He…He had to stop Naruko.

In the middle of mist, steam and ice…he had to run right there to stop the feral and out for blood Naruko.

He doubted a fist to the head would be enough.

Shinku clenched his fists. He knew this could only be Kakashi's doing.

If not his doing, then he had to know this would happen. It was the only explanation. The only reason…there wasn't another.

Maybe the man had only suspected the Kirigakure shinobi would start something.

Still, the man was asking him to run ahead and interrupt a fight between an Anbu and a Jinchuuriki. The man was asking him to die.

He wasn't going to die.

He gripped on the handle of one of his kunai and then took a deep breath.

He knew Kawarimi, Bunshin and Henge. He knew how to walk on water, on trees and how to climb a tree without chakra. He knew how to kill a sleeping man.

He didn't know how to stop a rampaging Jinchuuriki and a Kirigakure Anbu able to create ice from water…_while standing on a frigging lake_.

"This is officially," he mumbled, "The melted chocolate's fault."

"I wholeheartedly agree," his other-self replied, "And I am against going in there, Shinku."

"But…if I go in there, will you take us out?"

"You actually have the guts to go in there, Shinku?" his inner-self whispered. "This is suicidal."

"Ah…I know," he chuckled bitterly, "But I just need to put myself in front of Naruko. How hard will that be?"

A swipe of crimson red sliced apart another iceberg.

"That was a rhetoric question. She's not going to attack me," Shinku muttered. "She isn't."

"Right, because you left with the best of words…"

"Well…I'm off—"

"What's going on here!?" Tenten exclaimed as she appeared, Fu apparently carrying both her and Neji with her chakra wings.

"They need to stop fighting immediately," Inner-Shinku barked out, "This is going to become a diplomatic incident if it keeps up. Fu? Can you bring Naruko back here?"

What the hell? He was sending Fu in the middle of there? He was sending someone else in his place! This…

"All right!" she hastily agreed, smiling brightly as she flew straight off without even wondering over it for a split second.

"Any of you two knows medical ninjutsu? Enough to check on Sasuke's status?"

Neji's Byakugan pulsed, as Tenten got down next to the boy.

The long minute of silence that followed passed by with Shinku's eyes glued on Fu's light green covered form slamming into the red one of Naruko, before the Takigakure kunoichi gripped on her and pulled her away. The Kirigakure Anbu turned to gaze at the shore then, and their eyes met. The man seemed keen on starting something, but it was then that Shinku _waved_ at the man.

"Nice sparring!" he exclaimed, "But we need the girl back now!"

"Sparring?" Tenten mouthed in surprise, her eyes wide.

"The Uchiha is still alive," Neji acquiesced. "His pulse is weak, but he is still alive."

Then the Anbu flickered right in front of Shinku.

Shinku kept a smile on his face. "This _training_ has gone on long enough, don't you think?" he stressed out, cocking his head to the side. "I'm sure from an external point of view it might have seemed like a battle, and what a grievous mistake it could have been for diplomacy if someone ended up dying…but training is training…no matter how hard it is, right?"

The mask remained quiet.

"To foster relationships between the two villages, sometimes a bit of joint training is good and nice, _**right**_?" Shinku hissed once more.

The masked man stilled, before his neck moved past Shinku and to somewhere else in the middle of the forest…then, as if receiving an unseen command, the Anbu _nodded_.

"Very well," Shinku clapped his hands, putting back the kunai in his hand in his pouch. "Next time however, do warn the higher-ups before training starts. Someone might _misunderstand_ gravely such actions…"

Then the Anbu from Kiri disappeared in a flicker the next.

Shinku exhaled, clasping at his chest and then turning his gaze back to the rest of the assembled Genin. Naruko's eyes were still crimson, but Fu was pinning her down on the sand.

"LET ME AT HIM!" Naruko yelled. "HE! SASUKE! THE…"

"He's still alive," Neji stated plainly once more, this time towards Naruko. "His pulse is weak, but he's still alive."

"I know that!" Naruko screamed, taking a deep breath as her eyes returned blue. "But that bastard called Konoha weak after trashing the Uke!"

"And you began to fight him," Shinku replied. "Let me guess…he caught you by surprise?"

Naruko blinked. "Uh, well…no. He actually said he wanted to train with us to see if we were all that strong," the girl had the guts to giggle nervously. "Then Sasuke went down in a flash and…"

Shinku made a strangled noise in the back of his mind.

"Anyway," Naruko continued with a pout, "I'm not talking to you!" she huffed and turned her head to the side.

Shinku blinked. They had just survived an encounter with an Anbu from Kirigakure and the girl was already pouting and bantering once more?

"Ahem," Shinku coughed. "Anyway, I have to warn you…"

"Not listening!" Naruko kneeled down next to Sasuke, who was still unconscious. "Not listening!"

"There might be a raven haired girl going around in a kimono," he stated plainly over the sounds of the 'not listening' of Naruko. "She's a spy and probably a member of the Kirigakure forces," he added. "Her cover was of working at the chemist's shop, so it is highly possible she has been here for quite a while."

"What do the Jounin want then?" Neji asked stiffly.

"It is highly prudent if we all regroup with our Jounin-sensei. Since yours is still missing, you will be temporarily assigned to Uzuki-sensei."

Neji scoffed. "So we have to move with the escort?"

"Yes, you have to."

"Shouldn't we carry him back to Tazuna's house?" Tenten asked, pointing at the downed body of Sasuke. Naruko had taken out a black marker, and was already starting to draw on the boy's face.

"Why is she doing that?" Fu asked between giggles.

"I don't want to know," Shinku replied…

Somehow, he felt extremely tired after the entire ordeal. He wanted nothing more than to return beneath the covers and fall asleep again, to wake up back in his room without any of this nonsense of 'diplomatic accidents' and similar.

He felt a headache pounding away at the back of his head.

Still…he had done well once more, and he was still breathing.

**Author's notes**

**University (Ack!) started. Courses go from early morning to afternoon, (But thankfully cease on Thursday at lunch) hence…you'll probably see updates during the weekends rather than during the central days because…yes, the coursework is heavy.**

**Like…Engineering Heavy. **


	34. Killing Hope

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Four

"You knew this situation would develop," Shinku bitterly shot at Kakashi, the moment his eyes met with the lone one of the wandering Jounin —who just so casually appeared from nowhere after a few steps in the village. There was a limit to 'chance' and 'casual events'. This wasn't random. This was a plan.

Sasuke was on Naruko's back, yet to regain consciousness. The girl held a smile plastered on her face as she chuckled every now and then. The Uchiha's face was covered in scribble marks and words like 'Uke' and crude drawings of…things.

"Uh, you said something?" Kakashi remarked while closing his Icha-Icha. "Anyway," the man said, "The bridge will be completed tomorrow, thanks to the hasty arrival of your Jounin-sensei," he turned to Neji and Tenten, "He and your third teammate are currently working at the bridge with Tazuna…their fires of Youth will do a good job at it," chuckling, he then began to hum.

"Why were they late?" Tenten asked warily, "Did something happen?"

"No, Gai just…took a detour to be more youthful," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "Well, let me take you lot to the bridge, Uzuki-san is already there anyway."

Shinku exhaled in relief. The mission was going to be over by tomorrow. The following day, they'd all be leaving Wave behind. That was the plan.

The bridge saw two green blurs working hard, their loud screams and incessant ramblings of youth and fire echoing around. Shinku warily glanced around. "Where are the Kiri—"

One flickered down in that instant.

Ameyuri Ringo held a bright shark-like smile on her face as she placed both hands to her hips. "Well, well, well…I couldn't believe my eyes the first time but now…the tasty little morsels have simply grown again," her face morphed into a scowl. "A noisy morsel that will give me a headache," she gazed at Gai. "You were scared of being outnumbered, Sharingan no Kakashi?"

Kakashi hummed, "Who? Me?" he shrugged. "Why would I be? There are peace treaties between us…"

The woman just snorted at him, before turning her eyes towards the Genin. She licked her lips, her eyes glinting dangerously. "Some of them appear succulent," she chuckled softly.

"They are not food," Yugao stated then, appearing from the side and just so casually placing herself in front of Shinku. "Ameyuri-san."

"Are you going to take your leave soon?" the Kirigakure swordsman —swordswoman was probably more appropriate— asked while licking the tip of her teeth. "We couldn't even play a little bit."

"That is unfortunate," Kakashi stated suddenly, "Why not try a joint training? It would…"

The death glare of Yugao silenced Kakashi on the spot, especially because it added to the one of Naruko and —surprisingly— Fu.

"Kakashi-Nii! Come on!" she pouted, "I've got Duckbutt still knocked out! What is it, you're giving us crap because dad decided to give you crap?"

"Exactly," Kakashi nodded, holding up a smile. He admitted it so fast Shinku could only sigh and raise an eyebrow in perplexity. Really? He didn't even try to deny it?

"Oh, poor thing," the woman said as she locked on Sasuke's prone form. "Is he going to be all right?"

"Yes," Shinku stated plainly, before Naruko could get a word in. "He tried to train with your Kiri Anbu…of course, he was foolish enough not to take it seriously and the result is as you see…nothing more."

"Uhm? Nothing more? A pity I wasn't there to watch the scene…"

Naruko was about to say something, but in that moment Sasuke groaned. In an instant, the girl dropped the Uchiha hard on the ground and clapped her hands as if to say 'good riddance'.

"Ouch," Sasuke hissed. "What…hit me?"

"You lost," Naruko remarked dryly. "I had to carry your sorry Uke-butt all the way back here…really, you're heavy."

"Ah…yes," yawning, Sasuke carefully stood back on his feet opening and closing his hands. He slapped his cheeks afterwards, his sight returning in full. "Thanks, Dobe."

"Hn," Naruko grunted with her lips twitching.

Sasuke's gaze returned sour as he gazed at Naruko. The girl simply whistled innocently.

"How fun," the swordsman said, "Makes me want to have kids of my own," she chuckled once more.

Kakashi hummed, slowly flipping through the pages of his Icha-Icha as he ignored everything else around him.

"Was there anything you wanted to tell us, Ameyuri-san?" Yugao stressed out each word, noticeably straining the courteous tone.

"Uhm…oh, yes," the Kirigakure Jounin acquiesced. "Just wanted to make my condolences to that poor bridge builder…really, for his daughter to turn out that bad…"

Shinku froze.

"What?" Naruko asked.

"Oh, you didn't see the corpse in the square?" the swordsman smiled brightly, "she tried to steal from Gato last night…we dealt with her quite…ruthlessly. She was screaming when we managed to stab her through the back with her own arms, ah…the work of the Nuibari is never to be underestimated…" with a dreamy tone, the woman chuckled once more.

"Tsunami-san…is dead?" Naruko muttered, before whipping her head round right to where _Shinku_ was. "She's dead?"

"Yes," Shinku acquiesced, grimly looking downwards.

He didn't actually sense the fist coming as it slammed against his face, breaking his nose and sending him to fall down hard on the ground. Naruko hovered over him, fist clenched in fury. Shinku's right hand went to his nose, as blood copiously fell from it.

"This is your entire fault;" Naruko curtly snarled, before trying to stomp away in a fury. Kakashi gripped her by the shoulder the next instant, halting her furious 'retreat'.

"You are not going anywhere," he said calmly. "You already forgot what you were told?"

"I don't want to see him anymore," Naruko ground out.

"A pity, but you'll have to live with it."

Shinku stood back up, wiping away the blood as he pinched his nose —setting it in one quick jab while hissing to hold his pain in. Ameyuri whistled. "Trouble in Konoha's paradise uh? Well, I've got to head over anyway…" she cackled. "See you, brats."

With that, she strolled away.

"You understand you cannot act like this in front of foreign shinobi," Kakashi seriously stated. "Even if you hate the guts of someone else, you cannot show it if he's your ally and you're in front of someone else."

"B-But he…"

"And in the end, I'm the one who delivered him an order…which he wasn't even supposed to tell you, but he did so anyway apparently," with that Kakashi's lone eye settled on Shinku. "I am extremely disappointed," then he rolled his eye, "Of both of you."

"Kakashi-Nii! That's not…"

"I don't want to hear any excuses. You are part of a team and as such, you are responsible for your teammates. You do not attack your teammates. You do not show how much you hate their guts in front of others. And no, you will not change team just because you don't like Shinku anymore. Naruko, you must do as you're told."

Tazuna's footsteps stomped loudly as he neared. Shinku's eyes widened as another fist came down for him, but this time he managed to step back and avoid it.

"You lied to me!" Tazuna's angry scream, came together with his face too close for Shinku's personal tastes. Red-faced and enraged, the bridge builder tried to grab on to the boy's jacket, only for him to avoid the tackle once more.

"I'm sor—"

"Is this all that Konoha shinobi are worth!?" Tazuna yelled then, his eyes turning to Kakashi and Yugao. "You couldn't even protect my daughter!" his eyes began to water, "Why? Why!?"

"Our duty was to protect you, Tazuna-san," Yugao replied softly. "We are sorry for your loss."

"No, you aren't," Tazuna snarled back. "You would have looked out for Tsunami if you actually cared at all. You don't care about Wave, you don't care about its people, you don't care about the bridge. All you care about is the money and nothing more."

"That's not true!" Naruko shot back, "We wanted to help, really!"

"I don't believe you, any of you," Tazuna snorted. "Get the hell out of my house, I don't need you."

Shinku's eyes noticed movement, and he instinctively tensed as a mob of people —both villagers and armed thugs— appeared. Team Four was actually standing contrived in a corner, the three Genin pale as sheets while a stocky and small sized man well-dressed walked forward. The man clapped his hands, and then emitted a loud laughter.

"Well, well, well…look what's going on here," the man chuckled with glee. "Having problems, Tazuna-san? You should sit and rest…at your age, heart attacks are pretty common."

"Gato!" Tazuna roared, taking a step forward. The Kirigakure shinobi appeared then in front of the businessman —the villagers had been hoarded in by two menacing Chuunin with horns on their forehead protectors— holding their hands close to the handle of their swords.

"Indeed, and…you know, I had great plans," the man began to speak, carefully taking a few more steps forward. "You would complete the bridge, I would acquire it…a normal business transaction," the man's face held a cunning smile, like that of a predator ready to eat his prey. "Then your darling daughter tried to appeal to me. She pleaded to spare the village but, you see…in the end you're all ants against money," Gato laughed. "I have more money than the Daimyo of the Land of Waves, I have more money than Sunagakure has…And I know when to make a very good deal with other villages."

"You killed Tsunami, you sick bastard!" Tazuna yelled. "I'm not going to finish the bridge for you!"

"Oh, but I don't need you anymore," Gato said. "The Bridge is practically finished. The Great Gato Bridge that will last for hundreds of years…" he turned thoughtful, "And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I'll tear it down!" Tazuna yelled, "I'll break it apart with my own hands!"

"Ah, yes…apparently, some villagers still held on to some inkling of…_hope_…well, I can't have that now, can I?" Gato nodded to the masked-Anbu with the thin sword. The man produced a sack from his back, a dark, crimson with blood, sack.

"W-What…"

"I was merciful, once. I simply took the life of the troublemakers' ringleader. Anyone here remembers Kaiza?" Gato turned to look at the crowd, bringing his right hand up. "Anyone? Come on, don't be shy…you remember Kaiza and what I did to him? Well…I was being kind. Now? Now I'm no longer kind."

The Kiri swordsman threw the bag in front of Tazuna, where it landed with a wet squelch.

"What is in the bag, bastard?" Tazuna asked.

"Well…" Gato hummed, "Did you see your grandchild anywhere recently?"

Tazuna's blood left his face as he stared at the canvas sack. "No…" Tazuna moaned. "No, no…no…"

"And I can't have you destroy your work...it wouldn't do for the future of the Land you know...of Gato's Land," then, Gato nodded. "You heard the man, didn't you?" he turned towards _Kakashi_. "I'm the one who hired your team and I paid you quite a bit too…he wants to destroy the bridge. Kill him."

"Ohi," Naruko yelled back. "What the hell man!? We aren't taking orders from…"

"We are," Kakashi replied. "I said so, didn't I?" he turned to look at Naruko. "We have been paid to bring more supplies and protect the bridge. The one who paid us, who chipped in…was _mister Gato_."

"Wait…we're working for the bad guy here!?" Naruko yelled. "What the fuck, Kakashi-Nii!"

"Dobe, shut up," Sasuke hissed. "It makes sense. Who else had the money to hire the entire team?"

"Ah, Uchiha-sama," Gato said with a light grin, "Send my regards to your father, and…well, if the Uchiha clan wishes to speak of business in acquiring some of the finest clothes or steel from all over the world, Gato's shipping lines are always read to help."

"You can't be serious!" Tazuna yelled. "You!" he turned to Team Four, "You were paid by the people of the village to protect me!"

"Against bandits," Mai said, her voice tight. "Not fellow shinobi of the leave or enemy shinobi."

Tazuna's eyes widened as the true face of despair finally sunk in his cheeks and his bones, his entire body trembled as he breathed in deeply. "Ah…ah…no…the bridge…"

Even Maito Gai and Rock Lee stood behind, with Gai holding firmly a hand on Lee's shoulder…and another on his mouth. Some things just _had to be_.

"The bridge is supposed to be the hope of the village," Tazuna whispered. "Why would you want it?"

"It frees my shipping lines," Gato shrugged. "It was built basically for free, and with it I can divert five to six barges to more lucrative profit between Kirigakure and Kumogakure which, by the way, is the reason the Mizukage made me such a kind deal…"

"Ohi," Zabuza grumbled, "Affairs are private."

"My bad," Gato shrugged. "I'm just a businessman. I deal with money and contracts. Shinobi are the ones who trade secrets."

"So, tasty looking morsels," Ameyuri laughed with her high-pitched tone. "What is it going to be? Is the all-might Sharingan no Kakashi going to kill the bridge-builder? Is it going to be the spoiled princess of the Yondaime? Oh…will it be the Uchiha's first? Is he going to pop his blood cherry?"

"Uhm," Kakashi mulled it over, "Who wants to do it?"

Only shocked silence remained next.

Neji's hands sweated, as he took a step forward. "If it is inevitable, then I will make it quick and painless."

"No, Neji! You do not have to do it," Maito Gai said, his voice finally reaching their ears for the first time with a serious tone, rather than the usual 'Yosh'. "As your teacher, I will take…"

"Uhm, no," Kakashi drawled. "Let the Genin do it. They need to kill something eventually, and an old man seems like a nice and good start," his eyes moved over his own troop. "You killed anyone already, Fu?"

Fu nodded, her face slightly green as she gripped on to Shinku's sleeve.

"Well then," Kakashi looked towards Naruko and Sasuke. "Who wants the honor?"

"You're a sick man," Sasuke hissed. "I'll do it."

"Ohi! No!" Naruko yelled, gripping on to Sasuke's arm. "You're not! I'm not! Nobody is! You can't just kill a man like that! That's not—"

"Shinku?" Kakashi said, placing a hand over the boy's shoulder. "You are the Chuunin in command of the Genin corps…choose someone to make the kill."

"Hatake-san!" Yugao hissed.

"Hush, hush," Kakashi dismissed her with a hand wave. "One of the first lessons of command is to know who to send…"

"But another is to not order something you wouldn't do yourself," Gai spoke crisply. "I will do it, my hip rival."

"No," Kakashi stressed out with a low growl. "My cute little Genin will participate in the upcoming Chuunin exams," that perked the ears of Zabuza right up, "They need all the experience they can get," Kakashi eye-smiled. "Shinku-kun…choose."

"Wh—"

"Wait!" Tazuna yelled, bringing his hands up. "I was joking! I don't really care about the bridge! I'll let it be! There's no need to kill me if I don't care about the bridge, right!?"

"Uhm…" Kakashi turned to gaze at Gato. "The assassination of a civilian target rings in the fifty-five thousands ryos."

Gato shrugged. "That's the money I wipe my ass with," the man chuckled. "I'll give double the amount if whoever kills him makes him scream."

"One hundred and ten thousands ryos?" Kakashi whistled. "It's not bad at all…"

"No," Naruko hissed. "I'm not going…"

"_**I'll do it**_," Shinku snarled taking a step forward. Fu let go of his sleeve, looking at him in surprise.

Naruko's hand shot forward to grip his arm, but Shinku took a step backwards —slamming his elbow straight in the girl's stomach. It was like hitting an iron wall —what type of stomach did that girl have to begin with— but it distracted her enough to let him move ahead of her. Kakashi gripped tightly on Naruko's shoulders pinning her on the spot.

"You're nothing more than a murderer for hire boy!" Tazuna yelled, turning around to run.

Shinku's feet gripped on the ground as he shot forward, his speed far higher than that of a civilian. He twisted his body then, bringing his right leg forwards to crash against the old man's hind leg. It cracked and broke with a clean snap, as Tazuna screamed while falling down on the ground.

Shinku's left hand gripped the man by the neck. There was no flashy show of Jutsu. There was nothing but the smell of rotten fish and sweat as Shinku's digits gripped tightly on the man's neck with his left while his right palmed a kunai.

The handle of the kunai shattered Tazuna's teeth. The kunai sunk in the man's cheeks and tore them, blood dripping down as the old man's screams echoed in a little side of Shinku's brain the boy was keen on ignoring. The screams of fear, of fright, of disgust, the retching sounds that the back of his mind desperately pleaded him to make stop meant nothing to him as he continued.

One hundred and ten thousand ryos was more than a hefty sum. He had never seen such a sum to begin with. One thousand Ryo generally was the pay to each single member after a D-rank. Sixty Ryo was the cost of a normal miso ramen.

One hundred and ten thousand ryos on the other hand…there was a small part of him that claimed the money would be used for his retirement.

Another part, the right one, knew the truth.

If his parents overworked to keep the bakery floating, then more money was bound to bring them back home sooner, right?

It was the childish thought that a side of his brain whispered to give reason and logic to what he was doing. He was murdering the dreams and the hopes of the villagers, he was condemning them to die of hunger…but it was his job.

He had accepted it.

The screams died without Shinku even realizing it, and when he stood up once more, his hands were both covered in the blood of Tazuna, big droplets of crimson falling down as he smiled. "_**So, where's the cash?**_"

"I give it a five," the Anbu wielding the thin sword stated with his cracked voice. "Repetitive…not enough toying."

"Oh, come on…the kid's done fine for the first time," Ameyuri shot back, "I say a seven for the effort of the morsel."

"Uhm…I'll give a six," the man wielding the giant hammer and the sword said then. "It was vicious enough, but it lacked imagination."

Gato began to count out the money with his hands, as Shinku's body simply neared him in the astonishing silence that came from the Konoha side. Kakashi hummed his agreement, while Yugao shot the Jounin a dark and foreboding look.

Zabuza took a step forward.

Shinku tensed, but still took another step.

Zabuza's hand slowly went to the handle of his blade. Shinku still moved forward.

"And one hundred and ten thousands, for the red-eyed boy who gave me such a nice spectacle!" with a cheerful voice, which cracked apart the eerie silence around them, Gato handed over the bundle of money into Shinku's hands. The money colored itself red, but Shinku gripped on it and didn't let go.

"If you ever find yourself in need of work, Gato Shipping Lines is more than willing to give it to young and upstarting shinobi," the businessman continued. "We make no recrimination on missing-nin status or alliance to a particular village."

"_**I'll keep that in mind**_," Shinku replied. He gave his back to Zabuza as he moved away. The fourth step he took, Zabuza spoke for the first time.

"Hey, kid," Shinku turned just in time to see a curved bladed kunai spin straight for his feet, before it landed with a solid thunk on the ground. "That's a Kirigakure Kunai. They're better for slicing throats than whatever crap Konoha gives out. You ever feel like switching side from the suns and daisies to the real shinobi, just come on over and say Zabuza's vouching for you."

Shinku gripped on the handle of the kunai as he pulled it free. "Why?"

"Ah, you even have to ask, kid?" Zabuza chuckled as his back began to turn purple. In front of Shinku's eyes, a demon-like form appeared from the man's back with pure crimson eyes and foreboding claws. "_**Because you and I…are the same, right?"**_

Shinku swallowed then, and then…then he chuckled and began to laugh out, his cracked voice soon mixing with that of Zabuza.

To all the others…it looked as if two lunatics had found each other.

To Zabuza, it was like looking at his younger self. Trapped in the middle of the Kirigakure graduation academy, scared out of his wits and with nothing to carry him on…he had killed to survive. He had killed to live. He had killed…until none had remained save him…and his Demon.

He was the Demon of Kiri…and in that instant… he probably was watching yet another Demon beginning his climbing up from the gutters like him.

"I'll be sure to come watch the Genin exams," Zabuza said then as the laughter died out. "They're bound to be interesting this year for sure…"

"No thanks, you're not needed nor welcomed," Yugao said curtly as she appeared right next to Shinku —like an angry mother, or something similar. "We will take our leave now."

Shinku's face held on to his half-crazy smile until he was back in the Konoha group. Shinku's smile turned into a grimace and then into a sorrowful expression, as Naruko spat at his feet and turned around, completely ignoring him. Fu looked at him with a worry-filled expression, her right hand up in the air as if to touch the side of his face, yet she flinched when their eyes met and she lowered her hand.

Tenten had a green face. Neji remained stiffly uncaring —which was strangely a welcome sight.

Sasuke's eyes actually worried him. Naruko's own told him he probably had burned all bridges with the girl, but Sasuke's…they glinted with some sort of _understanding_ that did not make him feel well at all. What if he found out?

No, even worse…what if he _had_ found out?

"I hope you have learned your lesson," Gato's voice rose once more, this time turned towards the people of Wave. "Why do you insist on fighting the progress anyway…your village is done for! Go elsewhere and build your mud huts somewhere it doesn't hurt the scenery!"

The corpse of Tazuna on the ground, the bloodied sack with Inari's corpse inside…they both remained on the concrete of the bridge for the following hours.

Silence…interrupted only by the seagulls and the ravens hungry for the rotten corpses, was all that remained to the people as they closed their eyes to mutter a soft prayer to the deceased.

"Well," Kakashi said as they walked their way back. "The mission was completed with success!"

His carefree tone ground against Shinku's nerves.

It actually ground against the nerves of everyone else.

Kakashi exhaled in relief, "Such a beautiful D-rank mission! Completed without a hitch and Shinku-kun got a nice bonus too! Isn't it wonderful!? The wonders of doing D-ranks!"

"Hatake-san, now is not the—"

"Uzuki-san, now is clearly the moment! The mood is down and we must bring it back up, with the fires of youth!" Kakashi's exclaiming that made Maito Gai yell straight back.

"Yosh! My hip and cool rival finally saw the light!"

"You said something, Gai?"

"AH! HOW!? Hip, Cool AND Youthful!? It cannot be!"

Naruko walked with Fu, the two Jinchuuriki ahead of Sasuke and Shinku. The two boys of team Seven were actually at the back. Shinku was walking, as slowly as humanly possible as what he did sunk in, in all of its rotten glory. Sasuke on the other hand…he appeared as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't.

"I don't hate you for what you did," the Uchiha said then, gathering his breath. "I offered myself up for doing it after all…it would be hypocrite to be angry at you…and, well…shinobi do work for money so…"

"I…don't want to…talk right now," Shinku softly whispered.

"You know," Sasuke said once more, "I saw something on the bridge, while you and Zabuza were laughing…"

Shinku swallowed. It couldn't…

"I saw myself," Sasuke admitted.

Shinku frowned. That didn't…

"For most of my life, I…resented Itachi," Sasuke whispered. "He was…my older brother, youngest Anbu of Konoha, Chuunin at ten and immediately inserted in Anbu. My father always compared me to him. 'Itachi could do it at this age, why can't you' was his favorite sentence. I…I sort of hated my father too." Sasuke's eyes were downcast as he spoke.

"I started to do things to get noticed for myself," he said, his voice a mere shudder. "Got into trouble, took a plunge with the marks —which didn't work, because even giving a sheet filled with mistakes still gave me back perfect marks— tried to prank people like Naruko…I wanted to be noticed for being myself, rather than being 'the younger brother of the Anbu-Prodigy Itachi'. I got my wish," Sasuke chuckled. "Itachi got sick, too sick to walk even…nobody knew what to do, it was useless to even try…the Yondaime even roped in the slug sannin, but it was to no avail."

Sasuke bitterly spat to the side. "Itachi could fight on par with the _Yondaime_ in his prime and yet…yet he died because of a sickness. I still think, to this moment, that it was my fault," the Uchiha pushed his hair back with his hands. "I still think if I hadn't wished to be seen, that then my brother would still be alive."

Shaking his head, Sasuke continued. "I know…it sounds cheesy," the boy continued, "But you don't have to do as Kakashi says to prove something to me, or to Naruko. You don't have to always accept. You don't have to say yes to that bastard simply because he's the Jounin-sensei. You can say no. You can think with your head…you don't need to obey to be seen, Shinku…you don't have to hurt yourself like that."

"I…"

"I'll talk with Naruko afterwards, when she's calmed down. Just…take a moment and understand…it's not your fault this happened. You could do nothing to change it." Those words sounded so dry and so rehearsed, it felt as if Sasuke had been repeating them for hundreds of times already. "It's not your fault."

"T-Thanks?" Shinku croaked out.

"What else are friends for?" Sasuke retorted, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Ramen's on me when we get back in Konoha. Trust me, Naruko can't hate anyone while eating ramen."

"Ah…all right…"

Sasuke nodded and then sped off. He had to talk with Naruko.

Then, just to be on the safe side, he'd make investigations. There was no way a sane person would outright flip a switch and start laughing together with a Kirigakure Jounin over one of the bloodiest kill he had ever seen. Shinku hadn't been laughing on the bridge, as much as crying out for help.

He'd be a sucky teammate, if he didn't hear that plead.

He couldn't save Itachi, no matter what he repeated to himself. This didn't mean he wouldn't save whoever else he could.

And Shinku needed saving.

Most probably, he needed saving from his own family.

**Author's notes**

**Sasuke Uchiha, Child Protector.**

**That said…Sakura's Inner Personality always seemed to me like a precursor of something else. Kishimoto dropped it, but then…Zabuza's chakra was so strong it assumed **_**the form of a demon when used**_**. At nine years old, he slaughtered hundreds of academy would-be graduates. I can imagine the thought 'oh look, let's go to school today and see the grown-ups graduate…' 'bam, all dead'. Quite the **_**shock**_**, right?**

**Gato is another thing. He is terribly underappreciated and undervalued. Shinobi get paid to do missions. Whoever has more money…well, gets the best shinobi.**

**This is another sweet thing I wanted to write and never found the way to. The Irony of the situation is that…the mission is a success, the bridge is completed…but the bad guys won in the end. Then again, is it a 'win'? Nobody lost. No big battle ensued but…**

**Something definitively happened.**

**And you thought the twist was Kiri trying to get a casus belli on Konoha…**

***chuckles***


	35. Unquestionable Reality

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Five

Ramen-time had to wait for the next day. Shinku groggily admitted he wouldn't have gone to ramen anyway, considering their return happened in the middle of the night. He winced as a light ray slammed into his face —just as it did for the rest of the group— and then the gate guards opened up.

Kakashi moved first, giving the probably required passcode to let them enter rather than ending skewered up by the Chuunin on site. He'd hate being skewered so close to home. The thought of a bath enticed him, and as he numbly nodded his goodbye to the group —he had to take a detour to reach his house— he began to walk in the silence of the crisp and clear Konoha night.

He wondered how the people of the land of Wave were sleeping now. Were they huddled together, crying in their dreams what they no longer had?

Would there be even a glimmer of hope in their future?

He didn't know. Strangely, he didn't even care. There had been children among the villagers, dirty and with rags. There had been women, old and frail men —he had killed one too— and yet…yet he didn't really care. The _world_ didn't care so why would he?

Did the man he passed by, while going back home, care? Did Gato care? He doubted Gato had to take more than a cup of tea to get to sleep. He had money in his pocket, more than he had ever had before…and he didn't know what to make of it. He'd put it away in his locker box, like everything else he earned.

The money was dirty and blotched red, with the blood of the man he had killed. It hadn't been a murder with a noble reason. He hadn't killed the man swiftly, because his teammates had been captured.

_**You didn't kill the men to save your teammates. You were looking for a Takigakure shinobi to escape Taki.**_

He winced as his hands fumbled with the keys. He opened the door and walked inside.

The smell of warm food hit his nostrils.

That simple thing froze him on the spot.

It was late at night.

His parents…

_Were home._

He was dirty and his hands caked in dried blood now glared at him like vicious stomach punches. He hadn't washed them, too taken aback by his actions to even properly think it through. He had remained quiet throughout the entire trip back, completely ignoring everything around him.

The rest of the group gave him a wide berth, but now…

"Uh?" the voice of his mother reached his ears. He stiffened as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Shinku?"

She guessed from the kitchen —she couldn't see him from the doorway anyway, but the sound of her footsteps pattering on the wood told him it was just a matter of moments before she came to check. She had probably been preparing the Bento for the next day —lunch— when he returned.

"I'm…" he croaked out. "I'm home."

Her head peered out from the kitchen, and then her eyes widened as she took in his sorry state. "Oh my," she dropped what she was holding on the nearby counter, running right next to him to grab a hold of his cheeks with her palms. They were surprisingly warm.

He felt like crying all of a sudden.

He really felt like crying.

"What happened dear?" his mother asked, her voice worried as she looked all over him. "Did you go on a mission out of Konoha? Are you already taking your C-ranks? Why are you wearing a flak jacket? Was it risky?"

"I…" he croaked, "It was a D-rank," he acquiesced.

He realized then, as his mother hurriedly pushed him to sit in the kitchen, that he couldn't tell her the truth. He had killed a man and earned one hundred ten thousands ryos…but he couldn't tell her.

"What happened? Why are your hands covered in blood?"

"A boar," Shinku muttered. "We had to…take care of a boar, out of Konoha."

"Ah, yes…I heard there are a few boars around Konoha's countryside that sometime damage the crops. Was it big? Are you wounded? Do you need to go to the hospital? Right, you wouldn't be here if you had to go to the hospital," Mebuki shook her head. "Did you help your teammates out? You aren't weighting down on them, right? Who are they by the way? I never got around to asking you…"

"I…I'm sorry, but…" he hitched out, "I don't really…"

"Oh," Mebuki's eyes softened. "Did they make you give the killing blow? Poor dear," she hugged him then, holding him tight.

Shinku couldn't hold it in any longer.

He cried.

He sniffled, he sobbed, tears rolled down his eyes as he released the cry he had kept in his throat up until that very moment. "Shhh, shhh," Mebuki whispered softly, gently caressing the back of his head, "It's all right…everything is going to be all right…it was just a boar, an animal…calm down…"

_**Humans are actually animals, you know.**_

"Oh, my poor, poor boy," Mebuki muttered, "Maybe the life of the shinobi really isn't cut-out for you…"

"N-No," he croaked out. "I'm…I'm fine…I'm just…tired, not really…hungry."

"I'll let the water run then," Mebuki replied before turning to gaze at the pans. "Oh, can you just make sure the food doesn't burn?"

"Y-yes."

Looking at the food cooking, the smell of warm food, the noise of oil frying stuff…it was good.

It felt…homely.

He nibbled a cookie.

It was starting to become a standard reaction whenever things went down to nibble something with chocolate. He was going to become a rolling boulder if it kept up.

Five minutes later, and he sank in the warm water.

Ten minutes passed by as Shinku's eyes slowly closed down, his breathing evening out as he succumbed to tiredness.

He awoke with a splutter, the water coming out of his nose and mouth now icy cold. He stumbled out with a shiver, quickly wrapping himself in a towel before gazing at his reflection in the mirror of the bath.

"Hey there," Inner-Shinku remarked from the mirror. "We're safe now, aren't we?"

His eyes were black and his hair red, a perfect-mirrored image of him. Outer-Shinku nodded numbly, exhaling in relief.

"Let's…try and keep ourselves safe for a bit more, I can't always come around to save your ass," Inner-Shinku snapped. He twirled a kunai in the reflection, the Kirigakure one, "And frankly, I think we should worry about the Chuunin exams or whatever…that bastard of a teacher did say he would enrol us."

"He wouldn't…"

"He will," Inner-Shinku hissed out, "So," he pointed the kunai towards Shinku. "You better learn something, anything at all, that can help us survive."

"But where? I mean…"

"Our sensei is a bastard, but he wasn't…"

"B-But…"

"If I hear another 'but' or 'p-please' stuttered out I'll rip my own tongue," Inner-Shinku hissed. "You want to learn, then learn. You have a teacher, so ask him. You have to survive to Chuunin, Shinku," his hand slammed against the glass. The glass cracked as blood began to drip down the knuckles of his inner-self. "We will survive, understood!?"

"Y-Yes."

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes!" Shinku snarled, pulling away his fist…with glass shards embedded in his knuckles. Wincing, he removed them one by one while clicking his tongue.

The next morning, Shinku blearily opened his eyes to the sound of a dull thud outside his window. He opened it, just in time to receive a small pebble straight on the forehead which knocked him backwards with an 'ouch'.

"Sorry!" Naruko's voice reached his ears, "Really sorry!" the girl entered his room as if she was the owner, "You all right?"

"Y-Yes," he mumbled, gazing at her strangely.

"Right," Naruko said, clapping her hands. "I am still angry at you," Naruko pouted, "But I'm willing to forget all about it. Now, are your parents at home? I need to steal you for the moment, you see. We're all having breakfast at Uke-chan's house! Your parents are included of course!"

Shinku blearily looked at her for a moment more.

"Wait." He blinked as his eyes fully opened the moment the implication _sunk_ in. "What?" he croaked out.

"We're having breakfast at Uke-chan's house!" she excitedly gripped his hands, "You'll see, Auntie Mikoto is really good —not like my mom, but she's a decent cook— and you get to see Sasuke wearing an apron! I mean, who wouldn't want to see Uke-chan wearing an apron?"

Naruko shot out of his room a moment later, "Ohi! Shin-chan's parents! We're going out for breakfast! Anyone home!?"

"You'll wake the neighbours!" Shinku hissed as his tongue stuck to his throat.

"They're already out?" Naruko frowned, before sighing. "Really," she gripped on to Shinku. "You're coming with me, Shin-chan. You clearly need a healthy breakfast. You know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"

It was with those words that Shinku inwardly cursed as loud as he could. Breakfast at Sasuke's house meant…

The Uchiha district.

The Uchiha home.

The Uchiha's Chief of the police home.

It meant the second most powerful man of the most powerful clan in Konoha —depending on sources, and if one was an Uchiha sympathizer or a Hyuga one— would be having breakfast at the same table as his wife, Sasuke, Naruko and…

Of course, breakfast was something done in families. The way Naruko had meant it…

He was having breakfast with the Chief of the Police.

He was having breakfast with the Hokage.

He was having breakfast with their families.

He felt extremely out of place, and so tiny and insignificant that if maybe someone took pity on him and had him leave…he'd actually be grateful. He hadn't even put on his flak jacket. He felt not only naked…but also extremely vulnerable without it.

He was bunkered between Naruko and Sasuke, with Fu standing in front of them —literally surrounded— as he felt the scrutiny of everyone else at the table...towards him.

Oh, there was also their sensei. He was happily waving at him with his single visible eye while holding on a light chuckle.

Wonderful.

He wanted to scream.

_**HE WANTED TO SCREAM**_.

"No need to be afraid, Shin-chan! Uke-chan's father is…"

"It's _Sasuke_," Sasuke's father shot straight back, sporting a glare that made Shinku freeze, "After Sasuke Sarutobi."

"It's still a stupid name," Naruko replied uncaring, "Uke-chan is way better!"

The Yondaime laughed nervously, "Well said, Clappers."

"It's Thunderstorm Dad!" Naruko whined.

"Your parents couldn't make it, Shinku-kun?" Kushina asked him, and he stiffly nodded. He actually would have loved, to the bottom of his heart, to go back on the bridge and laugh with Zabuza. He'd exchange such nice stories! He'd even love to be gutted, rather than standing another instant there! Why him? Why?

"They must truly love their work," Fugaku stated plainly.

"You already had breakfast then, dear?" the soft voice of Fugaku's wife made him swallow nervously, as he shook his head. "Oh, very well then," Mikoto said with a happy hum. "It's nearly done anyway."

"Hey, where's Duckbutt's apron!?" Naruko shouted.

"I burned it, Dobe," Sasuke grumbled. "Who would even want me to wear a pink apron with a yellow duck?"

Fu giggled. "Aw…that's cute!"

"If you wore that naked-style while standing outside, I'm sure you would soon find out," Naruko replied with a wink.

Minato groaned. "I knew I shouldn't have left Jiraiya babysit."

"I knew I shouldn't have let Sasuke play with her," Fugaku joined in the groan.

Fu inclined her head to the side, "What? What's that about?"

"At least someone here still has some decency for being of the fairer sex," Fugaku said, looking towards Fu.

"Ohi, what's wrong you two prudes!" Kushina yelled. "We're talking of making a profit here," Kushina began to count with her fingers. "If we sell the photos at five-hundred ryos each, after counting for development…"

"Kushina-chan," Mikoto said with a bright and kind smile that terrorized Shinku to the depths of his core —even if directed at Kushina who froze too. "You try and use my son as merchandise and I will…oh, better not say it while having breakfast," the woman brought a hand to her mouth and smiled, her eyes crinkling happily as she cocked her head to the side.

"By the way," Minato said, "How was the mission?"

Kakashi hummed. "It went well, sensei."

"Kakashi-Nii bullied Shin-chan throughout it all," Naruko pouted. "He was very, very mean!"

"Oh? How so?"

"A-Ah, it was n-nothing," Shinku stuttered out, waving a hand in dismissal and then keeping his gaze down. Fu gazed at him, clearly worried as she bit down on her lips hard —as if to refrain from saying something.

Kakashi just kept on humming. "Yep, we just had nice talks, eye-opening talks," the silver-haired Jounin nodded sagely. "Wasn't there a no-mission talk during food times?"

"It was abolished after the last one you went on that nearly got my daughter killed," Minato replied with a smile. If Mikoto's smile had been terrifying, the one of the Yondaime felt on a completely different strength. Shinku began to consider the 'Demon' Zabuza a huggable body-pillow —a _comfortable_ body pillow.

"Naruko-chan was unharmed," Kakashi replied. "Everyone was unharmed to some degree. I think I have an appointment I must be late for…"

"He made Shinku act as if he were a Chuunin," Sasuke shot straight back, "and on site there were Four Kirigakure Swordsmen of the mist, two Chuunin and one Hunter-Nin," the Uchiha boy narrowed his eyes. "He disappeared for long lengths of time, and basically left it to us to deal with the troubles. There weren't any bandits, but Kiri seemed keen on starting something and they nearly got to blows with Shinku to boot...and…"

"Breakfast is ready," Mikoto stated plainly. "I think we'll put the no-mission talk back on as a rule, or I might just murder Kakashi before the end of the hour."

Kakashi eye-smiled, "Can I make a run for it?"

"Only if you let me stab you thrice first," Mikoto replied sweetly.

Breakfast wasn't like the one he cooked at home in a hurry —eggs and toasts— it was…actually prepared. Fish, rice, small cut eggs…it meant waking up at four to start preparing it. The Yondaime and the Chief of the Police talked business. Kakashi every now and then interrupted them to give a point here or there. The two women spoke of cooking, and every now and then Kakashi interrupted once more to ask about this or that.

Sasuke and Naruko spoke to one another with Fu intervening, and seemingly all three tried to rope Shinku into conversations…and when Kakashi tried to intervene they all glared at him with enough anger to shoo him back into talking about 'the proper way of cleaning blood out of an uniform' with Kushina and Mikoto.

"So, I think we'll be doing only D-ranks inside of Konoha now," Naruko mumbled. "It would be way better. You know, get some rest, have some good ramen…"

"Dobe, you only think about Ramen," Sasuke grumbled. "I say we should find out about the Chuunin exams and who are opponents are going to be."

"Aw," Fu pouted, "I'm not going to participate in them," she looked downcast. "But I'll be cheering for you, Shin-kun!"

"T-Thanks," Shinku stuttered out, his cheeks heating up lightly.

Naruko giggled with a half-depraved lecherous gaze. Sasuke coughed.

"We will need to train. Cheers can only go so far."

"Oh shush it Uke-chan. Rest and relaxation! Double errs!"

"I say we should train more. We'll be up against older teams certainly, and what if those Kiri freaks decide to actually show up?"

"Ohi," Kushina said suddenly, "Who said you're going in the exams now?"

"Kakashi," Sasuke replied crisply.

"Why not wait a few years?" Mikoto said, her voice jovial and her tone mirthful…as she sharpened a knife.

"Are they ready?" Minato asked instead, eying Kakashi who simply eye-smiled back.

"They were born ready," the silver-haired Jounin stated. "I will deliver the report of the mission this afternoon, sensei. You'll agree with me wholeheartedly."

"Keep him in the room while he does that," Naruko mumbled, "You'll want to hit him with something anyway."

"Oh? Can I come too, Hokage-sama?" Mikoto asked with her smile simply increasing in strength. Shinku was trembling like a leaf. The gaze wasn't directed at him, but he was still trembling.

"Hey, Auntie Mikoto! Pipe down with the glare, you're scaring Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed. "It's all right Shin-chan! Auntie's really nice —she was a Jounin you know— but she forgets sometime to turn her glare off."

"I do not glare," Mikoto replied.

She then carefully walked behind Naruko, her eyes narrowing slightly when she realized Shinku tensed at her passage. She curled her lips slightly up as her tongue clicked once, startling the boy…before she went to ruffle Naruko's head.

"Right," Minato said suddenly. "Before going on a mission," he sighed as he handed over the scroll to an eagerly waiting Kakashi —who pouted like a child at the sight of the D-rank mark— "Shinku," the boy stood to attention, his back stiffening considerably more than before. "You'll have to pass by the Yamanaka flower shop to talk with Inoichi."

"H-Hai," Minato smiled, and then gave a soft look to Naruko who awkwardly nodded back to him.

"I promise I won't burn it down like last time," she pouted. "Who knew compost was explosive anyway!?"

"It was classified an accident," Fugaku said crisply, "And you were let go because you were young, and…"

"And Sasuke helped me light the fuse," Naruko nodded sagely, "And you were privately punished with no ramen for a year," she added, "And the light of the world died that day to be reborn one year later," she finished gravely. "Oh ramen, why are you so delicious?"

"I was not going to say that," Fugaku hissed.

Having finished breakfast, the four Genin plus their Jounin-sensei headed out.

"The mission for today is weeding a garden," Kakashi hummed. "Nothing that can't be done with a hefty dose of clones," he shrugged. "First stop, Yamanaka flower shop to leave Shinku-kun to get his brain analysed."

"We'll wait outside," Sasuke said.

"If you don't come out in five, we'll barge in with a squad Shin-chan, don't worry!" Naruko exclaimed.

"It's going to be all right, yes?" Fu asked awkwardly. "It's just…a flower shop!"

Shinku awkwardly smiled, before his throat clenched. "I…I'm sorry about—"

"Ah, no need," Naruko shrugged. "It's all Kakashi-Nii's fault anyway. Uke-chan told me you really didn't have a choice," she turned thoughtful, "Next time though, I'm stopping you. Got that Shin-chan? It's a promise!"

Shinku nodded, and then remained quiet as the flower shop came into view. It had large glass windows and a few flowers standing outside to catch the sun's rays, while the door was open with the sound of bustling coming from within.

"Off you go," Kakashi hummed.

Shinku hesitated for a second —why did he feel afraid— and then stepped inside. The shop's air was slightly humid, water vapour surrounded the flowers as behind the counter a blond haired girl stood with a half-sleepy and half-annoyed look.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop," she said as soon as he entered. "Can I do something for you?"

"Ah…ehm…is your father…in?"

"If there's a need for some bouquet or anything else I'm even better than my father," the girl shot out with a smile, before frowning. "Wait, you're one of his patients, right?"

He nodded awkwardly.

"So you must be Haruno-san?"

He nodded once more.

"Oh," she blinked. "Wait! I remember you now!" she clapped her hands together, "You were with Naruko's team!" she cocked her head to the side, "That means…you're the dead-last, right?"

"Ah…yes," he ground out.

"Is Sasuke-kun still hanging around that bitch?" the girl was suddenly beyond the counter, huffing as she pulled her blond ponytail behind her shoulder. "I'm way prettier than her anyway, right?"

"Ehm…is your father…"

"And frankly," she went on while ignoring him, "The girl has it easy. Daughter of the Yondaime, Hero-Jailer of the Jinchuuriki, she's practically going to become the next Hokage anyway."

"I don't…"

"She's a spoiled princess, not like me who has to work at the shop from early morning," Ino continued, "I wonder when Sasuke-kun is going to realize that and leave her. You'll tell me when that time comes, right, Hasuno-kun?"

"It's…Haruno," he mumbled. "Your father?"

"Yeah, yeah all right, I see the bitch has her claws sunk in you too," she shrugged. "Dad! You have a screwed up patient!" she yelled that out rudely, before returning to her post behind the counter.

"Ino! How many times have I told you…" Inoichi came down, before holding up an awkward smile at the sight of Shinku. "Oh, well then, come on up Haruno-kun:"

Shinku swallowed nervously as he headed upstairs, passing by the counter and the glaring Ino.

The office above had a desk, a two chairs and a sofa standing near a window. There were many books on the shelves near the walls, and a few parchments stood scattered around in unruly piles.

"Sit where you like," Inoichi said, gesturing to the room. Carefully, Shinku sat down on the chair, his hands gripping his knees with his gaze downcast. "Now, now," Inoichi's voice was soft, "No need to think I'm your executioner," the man sat in front of him. "It's just a mere check…I'm going to show you some pictures, all right?"

Shinku nodded.

The first picture was of a kunai.

The second was of a Konoha shinobi, the third of an Iwagakure shinobi, then a Sunagakure, a Kumogakure and finally a Kirigakure one. Then came the forehead protectors of the minor villages, a few actually puzzled him because he had never seen them before —one had the form of a star to begin with, how funny was that?

Then Inoichi showed him the picture of a corpse, and Shinku turned green as he brought a hand to his mouth.

"So," the picture hastily disappeared. "How was your last mission?"

"Ah…hellish?"

"Why was it hellish?" Inoichi asked —his voice was soft and his tone even.

"T-There were…circumstances."

"Uhm," Inoichi turned thoughtful, "Did you kill?"

Shinku closed his eyes, before grimacing. He nodded after a few seconds —what use was there in saying he hadn't?

"How did that make you feel?"

"H-Horrible."

"Why did you have to kill?"

Shinku licked the top of his throat with his tongue, his mouth dry. "I-It was…an order. D-Don't order…something that…you won't…do. Kakashi-sensei told me…to choose who…would kill the man."

"Do you think your teacher singled you out for a reason, Shinku-kun?" Inoichi's voice was still soft, how could it be so soft? It was a mere whisper, but he did feel lulled…

"I…I don't know," he acquiesced. "Maybe because…I already killed? Maybe…he didn't want to push it…on the others."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I'm the intruder, right?" his voice cracked slightly. "I'm not supposed to be in the team. I'm the dead-last. It's…Wouldn't it be better if someone else had been in it? Like, a clan children? Why did it have to be me? I don't have anything to offer to the team."

"You think your sensei is hazing you? Giving you tasks he wouldn't give to your other teammates?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe…maybe yes, maybe he just wants me to tell him no, but…but he told me, if I wanted to be a part of the team…he told me training would probably kill me…he told me, and I said yes…I…isn't it my fault in the end? Can't…I mean…"

"Take a deep breath now, Shinku-kun. Everything is all right," Inoichi acquiesced, "Come on now, breathe deeply."

Shinku breathed, clenching his knees tighter.

"Now," Inoichi remarked. "Did you tell your parents about your first kill?"

"No," he shot back immediately, "They…They wouldn't understand."

"They're both Ex-Chuunin, right?"

"Yes but…they never killed. They never told me they killed. I…They said they never had a mission like that."

"Were you expecting to have the same shinobi experience as them?"

"Yes," Shinku mumbled. "I did."

"Why did you choose to become a shinobi anyway, Shinku-kun?" Inoichi asked, his voice light.

Shinku closed his eyes. "Running on the rooftops," he mumbled. "I…I was roped in by a friend, and my parents wanted me to try anyway," he chuckled. "But…running on rooftops seemed nice."

"I see," Inoichi hummed. "Tell me, have you had any nightmares?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm…I'm fine."

That worried Inoichi, but he remained quiet. "Very well then," the man smiled. "I don't think there is anything to worry about. If you ever feel the need to talk, just come over at any time of the day."

"T-Thank you."

"We'll see each other again next month. Don't skip, or I'll come looking for you."

"Ah…Yes."

Inoichi walked the boy out, and watched him leave with his team. Sighing, he returned inside.

"So, is he another screw-case?" Ino asked. He loved his daughter, but sometimes she had the same tact and grace of a rhino.

"I do not discuss patients' cases with you, Ino."

"Come on dad," she said then with pleading eyes, "If he's a nut job it would be priceless! The spoiled princess being friend with a lunatic and…"

"Ino, when are you going to bury the axe?" Inoichi sighed.

"She's the one who has to say sorry first," Ino pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "By the way, can I go now? Lazy guy and fatty are probably at the training ground already."

Inoichi grumbled, before nodding.

As Ino left to deliver the juicy gossip to Ami —who had returned from her C-rank just the day before— Shinku found he was, for once, actually _happy_.

They were weeding a garden.

He wept of joy as he began the repetitive motion of gripping on the weeds and pulling them out, giggling as no kunai, trap, explosion or enemy appeared. He was weeding a garden, and he loved every second of it.

Naruko watched the scene from afar, before lowering her shoulders and sighing in defeat. "All right, all right…no clones," she brought both hands up in surrender, as Sasuke gave her a sort of look that went 'look at him! He's so happy!'

Fu giggled at the antics, before starting to pull out the weeds too.

Kakashi flipped another page of Icha-Icha.

He had sent a written report to sensei, hidden his porn in a safe place beneath the earth in a spot he alone knew existed, and had made sure to change the lock of his house during the night.

He was safe.

The next split second the Icha-Icha he was holding burned down to ashes, as Kushina just so randomly dropped by.

"Mom?" Naruko asked.

"What is this about making a Genin act like a Chuunin, Kakashi-kun?"

Shinku swallowed. Kakashi nervously laughed.

Golden chakra chains slowly appeared around Kushina's body. They clinked and rattled like scary rattlesnakes.

"Sensei certainly…"

"Minato was busy holding back Mikoto, considering you watched and did nothing when her son was impaled by needles to see how your Genin would react," Kushina smiled brightly, inclining her head to the side. "As well as forcing your students to, once more…what did you write 'train under the pretence of a life or death situation' was it? Well…Kakashi-kun…let's train, shall we? I'm just going to kill you. _Dattebane_."

"Mom?" Naruko squeaked once more.

Then the ground trembled.

"I think Mikoto managed to elude Minato," Kushina giggled. "Run Kakashi-Kun…_run_."

With a —very masculine in Kakashi's opinion— eep, the Jounin dashed away, soon followed by a red blur and a black blur.

"Mother?" Sasuke let out a strangled sound as Mikoto pursued Kakashi.

"Come back here, you rotten teacher!" Mikoto yelled.

"Mother!?" Sasuke exclaimed once more.

"Have mercy!" Kakashi yelled.

Yugao appeared in that moment, coughing lightly.

"It seems Hatake-san forgot a few details in his report, I have done my utmost best to include them," she turned serious. "Where are Haruno-kun and Fu-chan?"

Both Naruko and Sasuke turned their necks sharply.

Ignoring everything…the two aforementioned Genin were happily weeding the garden away.

"There is something wrong in you if you're happy while weeding a garden," Sasuke mumbled.

"I think there's something wrong in general with not hearing the sounds of three Jounin fighting…well, two fighting and one screaming in pain," Yugao corrected, gazing at the battle happening just a few meters away.

That was the first happy D-rank in Shinku's life.

Ignoring the screams of pain from Kakashi —which were actually a nice soundtrack to the job— the mission was, over all, wonderful and easy to complete.

Maybe the life-threatening situations were finally over.

Maybe.

**Author's note**

**Fluff! Happiness! Forgiveness! And everything Nice!**

…

**Fluff. **


	36. Yesterday's Doubts are Today's Truths

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Six

Shinku frowned.

This was starting to worry him.

He walked through the road back home with people gazing at him and whispering. What was going on?

"That's Haruno-san's son, right? Shikku?"

"No, I heard it was Shunku…"

"It's Shinku," a third woman whispered. He could hear them just fine. "Saw him leave the Uchiha compound this morning, I have a friend who has a shop near them and…"

"So he's the mysterious teammate of the Hero?"

"Uchiha-sama must be taking most of the weight of the team…"

"Ohi," a nasal voice called to him, as Shinku's ears perked up. A group of older boys —between fifteen and sixteen— called to him. "You Shinku?"

"No," he replied, blinking his eyes. "My name's Hibachi."

"Oh," one scratched his chin. "Sorry then."

He shrugged, as if it wasn't anything to worry about, and then went his way.

Really, what was he supposed to say to a group of Genin holding their hands over their kunai pouches that had stopped him in the middle of the street? 'Yes, it's me, please let's go in the dark alley so you can hit me'?

"My sister described him pretty well though," another boy muttered.

"Well, wait a moment then, what team are you in brat?" the ringleader asked, gazing at him.

"Team Four, I'm with Kota and Ami."

"I know Kota, he's in team Four," one of the other boys stated.

"There, see? Now scram, kid," the older Genin gestured towards Shinku, who happily obliged and got out of there. He didn't go far.

"Hey you," another voice, this time belonging to an elderly woman, reached him. "You were with Uchiha-sama a few days ago, right?"

"So you are Shinku!" the older boys from behind him hissed.

Shinku dashed ahead.

Leaving behind the market and taking a running start, he jumped on the side of a building and climbed straight up without looking back.

Behind him, he could hear the steps of the older Genin follow him.

There was a flicker and a hand came down for his left arm.

He slammed his right straight through the guts of the boy, who lurched over. He spun, jumping to grip on the boys back and use him as a human shield as a fist came straight for him. The first of the older Genin was out like a light after that.

The remaining four surrounded him afterwards.

"We just wanted to talk," the ringleader stated, "But if this is how you want to play it…"

"Like you weren't planning this from the start," Shinku snarled back. "What was it supposed to do, scare me? Your pitiful display wouldn't scare a mouse!" he hissed, as his own hand went for his pouch…which he didn't have.

He had everything in the flak jacket.

The flak jacket he had left at home.

"The dead last of the academy thinks we aren't scary," the older Genin drawled out. "Maybe being so close to Konoha's prodigies made him stupid. We'll give you a wakeup call then."

The one on the right slammed his fist in Shinku's sides before the boy could do anything. His breathing hitched, coming less as soon another punch slammed into the left side of his face. His head ringed and his sight grew hazy.

"No hits above the face, imbeciles! Don't leave anything visible!"

"You make it sound easy," one of the other snapped.

A kick pushed Shinku on the ground.

"Now listen here, dead last," the ringleader knelt down in front of Shinku. "You're a worthless stand-in, don't get any funny ideas about being worth anything to the rest of the world, because you aren't. You're a sickening horrid bastard, who nobody even wants and if I…"

There was a gurgle.

A kunai stuck straight through the throat of the ringleader.

"Where would you be without me?" Inner-Shinku stated plainly, slicing through the neck of the older Genin and then snarling, as he threw three kunai —one per thug— that struck true. "Really," Inner-Shinku knelt down next to Shinku, "Where?"

"I'm dreaming…right?" Outer-Shinku muttered.

"Of course you are," Inner sighed. "Come on now, time to wake up Shinku. We have a long day ahead of us."

Shinku opened his eyes.

The window of his room was open.

He frowned, before carefully standing up and heading towards it.

The giant snake, holding a bear in its jaws, slithered through the bustling streets without a care for the people it squashed beneath its scales. It didn't care. They were ants, and it was…well, a giant snake.

Shinku finally, utterly, woke up with a gasp. The window closed, it was early morning, and he felt the need to retch. Covered in sweat, he dashed for the bathroom and then washed his face.

"Are these the nightmares?" he muttered, gasping for air.

"Don't ask me," he murmured back. "I'm you."

"Thanks for the help," Shinku said. "It felt so…"

"Real? Yeah, it probably will be. I mean…we are lucky we didn't spend much time inside Konoha. Heck, catching Tora was the only mission we had up until now. Nobody knew we were teammates with the Hokage's daughter and the Uchiha's clan heir but now…now they will know."

"I don't think they're going to attack me like in a cheap b-rank movie," Shinku mumbled. "That was just a dream…"

"Probably they won't," his inner-self stated, "But we can't be sure now, can we?"

"Let's train the Shunshin…"

"I agree, wholeheartedly."

It was early morning, and Shinku's feet carried him all the way to training ground seven. The three wooden poles stood there unscathed and untouched. His head went 'thunk' lightly against his own, before he gingerly touched the handle of the Kirigakure kunai.

Its blade curve, it eerily glinted. He chuckled as he wielded it, gripping tightly onto the handle as he neared the weapon to the pole. The edge was sharp —routinely sharpened to the point where it shone of light by itself. His eyes reflected off the edge of it.

He placed it back into its strap, before turning and then looking forward. He'd train the Shunshin. He could do it.

If he became fast enough, people wouldn't be able to catch him.

Kakashi arrived next. He arrived early on purpose.

The reason was that if he arrived late, then the Icha-Icha specialty store had received the order from the Hokage not to sell him anything.

He technically had been grounded to only D-ranks for the duration of the entire month before the beginning of the Chuunin exams —and he couldn't actually teach the team. He had practically become the paid bodyguard. Teaching had passed over to Yugao.

On one side, it was nice not having to worry about what to teach to the children.

On the other, he actually felt slightly wounded they believed him so petty he actually wouldn't teach them properly if asked.

Second time was always the charm, right?

He hid among the branches, watching his weakest student try to go through the Shunshin motions. Humming, he waited until the boy was just about to try again, and then he descended straight away.

Shinku ended up barrelling against a leg, which sent him to crash on the ground and roll as his eyes widened.

"Yoh," Kakashi said plainly, "Careful with your footing."

Shinku coughed as he stood up, dusting away the dirt from the front of the flak jacket.

"Gah, you…you did that on purpose."

"Yes," Kakashi admitted. The man then shrugged. "You should learn how to use the Shunshin laterally and diagonally, rather than using it to simply go forward. You can use the body flicker to go backwards too…which can be a life saviour when you're stuck in a narrow corridor and the newbie of the team just primed an explosive tag."

Shinku looked at him warily.

"Furthermore, the basic Techniques can be used in combination. Flickering and leaving behind a Kawarimi for example, or leaving a Henge in the spot you flickered away from is an excellent misdirection."

Kakashi gazed at him with his single eye.

"We need to do something about your reflexes, eye coordination and more…but we don't have that time."

"I…Yes?"

"Technically speaking, I'm forbidden from teaching any of you without the strict supervision of Uzuki-san, who will take over as Jounin-sensei of this team for a while…as I repent and do humiliating extra D-ranks like cleaning the sewer system."

The man rolled his only visible eye.

"On the other hand, I find your will to improve refreshing," Kakashi chuckled. "So…have you thought about my offer?"

"I…I want to survive the Chuunin exams," Shinku whispered.

"Uhm…why stop there?" Kakashi asked. "There's nothing actually stopping you from becoming a Jounin. Uzuki-san isn't from a known clan or particularly renowned as a prodigy, and neither was Gai. Heck, the majority of Jounin aren't from clans to begin with."

"But there are many more Chuunin and Genin," Shinku muttered back, "And the missions are…"

"You're scared?" Kakashi asked, inclining his head to the side. "Of hard missions? Of dying?"

Shinku awkwardly nodded.

"Don't be;" Kakashi shrugged. "You know…missions aren't really all that difficult," the man sighed. "High level ones, I mean. You just have to do a proper job. Infiltrate the house, kill the target and then leave. Quick, clean…a Genin can do it too. They're left to Jounin because it requires a certain skill and paranoia to check for traps. There's no 'undo' button. The guy has a kunai launcher in a corner of the room and it nicks your vein, Jounin or not you're going to bleed out fast."

"I'm the dead last," Shinku stated plainly, "I…"

"You aren't."

"Uh?"

"You aren't," Kakashi remarked dryly. "You haven't been for a while. Of the rest of your class, you were the one who improved the most."

"B-But the tradition…"

"The tradition is just that, a _tradition_," Kakashi hummed. "Just like the Hokage's word is absolute and final."

Shinku's eyes widened for a fraction, before he exhaled a breath he didn't even know he had held. "S-So…I'm not…the dead last?"

"Well, you're probably the second-last or the third-last," Kakashi chuckled, "But no, you weren't the dead-last. Still, do consider the others failed on purpose, which lowered the bar of graduation…which practically means you wouldn't have passed if they hadn't tried failing," Kakashi suddenly turned thoughtful. "Yeah, actually speaking, you're probably even worse than the dead-last."

Shinku's shoulders dropped.

"Ah…right," he chuckled. "Suppose being dead last would have been…an improvement."

"Try to change the direction you retain chakra from being emitted," Kakashi said, changing the argument unexpectedly. "If you do that mid-dash, you can change the point of landing. Some need to actually land their foot on the ground as they make the change —which is how many shinobi battle and the reason high-speed clashes end with only showers of sparks."

"Why are you…"

"You know, the dead last of the class many decades ago was one Hiruzen Sarutobi. The very last of the next generation's class was Jiraiya, who is now known as the sage of porn," Kakashi hummed, "Guess who else was dead last?"

"T-The Yondaime?"

"No," Kakashi deadpanned, "He was a prodigy, just like me. You see…being prodigies or dead-lasts…means nothing." Kakashi shrugged. "Hands down, if the God of Shinobi were still alive now, he'd kick the asses of everyone else, Doujutsu or not, prodigy or not…And he wasn't a prodigy. You should read his history."

"I'm not Hiruzen Sarutobi," Shinku mumbled.

"Well, even the Sandaime wasn't 'The Kami' of shinobi at first," Kakashi deadpanned. "This is something I learned by myself, Shinku-kun," he brought a hand over the boy's shoulder. "We do not need to fit in our fathers' shoes to make their same strides… we need to learn to walk with our own, so that we may go further…"

Kakashi then gripped him by the other shoulder and whispered. "And if you dare leave my little sister and her Uke-brother to face an ass-licking fan boy or fan girl because you're too scared to go on missions with them, I will find you, no matter where you hide…and you won't like it when I do."

"_**So I'm just the comfortable spot filler?**_" Shinku snarled.

"Exactly!" Kakashi clapped his shoulders. "But you know, even the mighty sage of porn was considered spot filler between Orochimaru and Tsunade."

"I can't understand if you're trying to help me or you're just messing with me."

"A bit of both," Kakashi nodded. "Still, I might be bored during D-ranks in the afternoon all alone…and I do believe teaching others the skills to survive is useful."

Shinku blinked. "You want me to do your D-ranks."

"Yep," Kakashi nodded. "You can even keep the spare change."

Shinku clenched his fists. "You'll help me afterwards?"

"My invaluable suggestions will be at your dispo—"

Yugao's hand shot for Kakashi's ear, gripping him tightly. "Bad! Bad Hatake!"

"Ouch, ouch, hey!"

"You're all right?" Yugao asked then, eying him worriedly. "Really, have you no shame Hatake-san!? Trying to force your punishment on someone else! The Hokage will know of this!"

Kakashi chuckled nervously. "There's no need to bring sensei in everything, Uzuki-san…"

"Kakashi-Nii! Wait," Naruko arrived in a flicker, Sasuke just behind her while Fu flew her way down. "You're here early? No, that's not possible," she narrowed her eyes. "He's got to be a spy!"

"Hey now, that's not…"

"He was forbidden from carrying Icha-Icha," Yugao mused over, gripping the handle of her katana.

"Traitor," Kakashi muttered, his lone eye narrowing on Naruko. "You said you wouldn't tell."

"I lied," Naruko stuck her tongue out. "Shin-chan, you're all right?"

Shinku just nodded.

"And isn't he supposed to have a meeting with the T&I department this morning anyway?" Sasuke said, his eyes gazing at the silver-haired Jounin with something akin to satisfaction.

"Now that's a bit unf—"

"Hatake-san, you can leave the team in trustworthy hands," Yugao said crisply. "Head over to the T&I department."

"But there's Anko over there!"

"My condolences… _now go_."

With a pout, Kakashi flickered away.

Yugao turned to stare at her team. Fu was standing close to Shinku, while on the other side Sasuke and Naruko were both sporting wide and nearly symmetrical feral grins. She didn't like it one bit, but…

"The Yondaime's punishment on Hatake-san has already been decided. There is no need to insert your own personal vendetta," she said softly.

"B-But he hurt Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed, "And Shin-chan is, like, the mascot! You don't hurt the mascot!"

"I'm a mascot?" Shinku mouthed out.

Fu giggled.

"The Chuunin exams will begin in a month," Yugao stated plainly, once all four of her Genin were in front of her. "They are risky and life-threatening, thus I need to see where each of you stands in the shinobi specialties of Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. Afterwards, I will check your Shurikenjutsu and Kenjutsu."

She gazed at them all.

"Who wants to go first?"

It was…professional.

Shinku ended up face-first on the ground during his turn, but he did manage a Henge, a Bunshin and a Kawarimi nearly flawlessly —at least, that was his own personal opinion. He even made a Shunshin. He nearly fell down on the ground from chakra exhaustion once more, but he had done well. He said so himself.

Suddenly, he found himself trapped inside a tree. It was becoming hard to breathe as the branches and the roots tightened all around him. He coughed, screaming from the pain of his cracked ribs when…

Inner-Shinku gripped at his shoulders and pulled him out.

Shinku spluttered, coughing as he wheezed on the ground. "Ah…ah…"

"You successfully countered the Hell-Viewing technique," Yugao stated. "Very well. Take a rest now."

Shinku's back laid against a tree while he watched Sasuke go next —Naruko had gone first. His breathing was even, but his gaze soon diverted to his hands. He could feel the sweat roll off his forehead. He knew this was preposterous.

Who ever heard of having a split personality bring you out of a Genjutsu? It was…it was impossible. Sure, the Hell Viewing technique of Yugao-sensei was nothing when compared to Kakashi-sensei's ones with his sharingan. They…they tasted bland.

They didn't have much, they weren't extremely detailed and…and they probably fell apart on their own after a short while. He was used to stronger illusions. Just like with training, he was used to life or death. His heart didn't drum in his chest hard as he watched Yugao professionally deal with Sasuke's Taijutsu, which flowed way better than his would ever even do.

He had to correct his statement even as he watched Sasuke go through more than three different Ninjutsu that weren't in the academy's three —all of which, he did flawlessly. He didn't even fall for the Genjutsu for a single moment, emerging from it unscathed and bored.

Sasuke had a style, he supposed. He was the calm and collected shinobi who was flawless in everything he did. Naruko too had a style: she bull rushed through things, tearing them apart if they blocked her way rather than try to walk around them.

Fu went last, and even though she was cheerful and bubbly most of the time, her eyes narrowed and her face became cold as soon as Yugao-sensei gave the start. He had thought Naruko to be fast. He had been wrong. Fu wasn't only fast, but fully able to use the Bijuu within her to enhance her speed, her power, her abilities.

Her Ninjutsu was comprised only of Bug techniques, but she was truly a monster to fear anyway.

Shinku was in a team of strong people, of prodigies. That…that distinct separation would never cease. Even if he grew strong, stronger than a chuunin, he would never reach their level. He didn't actually want to reach their level —it was just a petty jealous thought he squashed away— but he wondered all the same…

How did it feel, to be so powerful?

How did it feel to have the power to slice a mountain in half, or to conjure a chakra warrior capable of levelling down a city block? How did it feel to be a prodigy?

_**They don't have to fear for their lives. Isn't that what Kakashi said? They have a back-up. Your back-up is me.**_

_You mean I get the split personality who is worth less than zero?_

_**I get you out of nightmares, you know. That and Genjutsu.**_

_How?_

_**Uhm…Well, I'm working on the same knowledge you have. Genjutsu is using chakra to control the brain of the enemy. Chakra is in every cell of the human body, and technically you and I are the same person. I am…'Kai' I suppose. Genjutsu is also Yin release, and…uhm…maybe I am actually a self-created Genjutsu by you, which counters the others? I don't know. Ask your fractured mind how she managed to cope.**_

_So what, I Jutsu-ed you into existence?_

_**Probably. Everyone needs a friend now and then, imaginary or not. Add chakra to the mix and a broken psyche and bam. Nice to meet you. **_

_Wonderful._

"How did I do?" Fu asked, holding her arms behind her back, carefully pushing her body down to gaze at Shinku's thoughtful expression. The boy blinked, returning to reality.

"Ah…You were…good?"

Fu smiled, before plopping down next to him.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked, poking his cheek.

"N-Nothing," he stammered out. "Just…thinking."

Elsewhere, in the Hokage tower, Minato Namikaze blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me the first time, 'ttebane!" Kushina huffed. "Mikoto-chan said she was keeping an eye out, and that poor boy was a nervous wreck!"

"He was having breakfast with the Hokage and the Chief of the police," Minato countered softly. "I would have been nervous too."

"Naruko complained it's not the first time she tries to look around for his parents, but she has never seen them," Kushina stated plainly. "They talk through post-its! How strange is that, uh!?"

"This still doesn't demonstrate anything, Kushina," Minato remarked. "And shouldn't you be making your suspicions known to, you know, Fugaku? I'm the Hokage, I'm not the social services of Konoha…"

"That boy saved our daughter! I'm not going to just…watch from afar if someone's hurting him 'ttebane!"

"I understand," Minato sighed. "We do owe him," the Yondaime closed his eyes for a moment. "Very well, I'll ask Fugaku to check…"

"Mikoto-chan's taking care of that side," Kushina smiled.

At the same time, in the Uchiha's police station, Fugaku closed his eyes and exhaled. "Really? First Sasuke and now even you?"

"Come on dear, you know I'm rarely wrong," Mikoto smiled.

"You could just make your suspicions known to Tabichi, the one in charge of the social services a few floors below…"

"But you're easier to get to," Mikoto remarked. "And then what would they do? Make a round? Come on…big chief of the police that you are…"

"You aren't simply going to drop it, are you?" Fugaku asked warily.

"Nope," Mikoto smiled. Fugaku…caved in.

His wife's smile was terrifying.

On the other side of town, Ino frowned. She had tried the day before to speak with Ami, but her mother had gently ushered her away. The mission had gone wrong somewhere or something, because the girl hadn't talked at all —and had returned as white as a sheet, believing her mother.

Changing her target of gossip from Haruno to the reason for the failed mission, this time she managed to corner Hibachi —another member of Team Four— by patiently waiting for him outside his house.

The boy wasn't at all in a good shape, his eyes with deep purple rings and his expression haunted. She hadn't even recognized him at first.

"Hi," Ino said, smiling. "I'm Ino, Ami's friend…I'm very worried about her…she hasn't left her house since coming back and…"

"It's…" Hibachi croaked out, before closing his eyes sharply. "It's not a surprise…"

"Did something bad happen to her?" Ino's eyes widened. They did tell the students at the academy about the risks of being captured and all…she brought a hand to her mouth, it couldn't be…

"No," Ino exhaled in relief at hearing that, "B-But…we saw something…horrible," Hibachi hiccupped, before shaking his head strongly. "I don't want to talk about that." The boy turned sharply to leave.

"Wait!" Ino's hand shot forth to grab his wrist. "What happened!?"

"A monster," Hibachi muttered. "A…demon," he exhaled.

"A demon? Do you mean…was Team Seven there too? Is this about Naruko? Did she do something?"

"No," Hibachi shook his head, "Not Namikaze-san…the boy. The boy in the team…Haruno…he…" Hibachi brought a hand to his throat, covered by a white bandage. "He was _smiling_ while he did it," the boy shook his head. "He…we had to…we failed our mission, but team Seven passed theirs and…urgh…I can't say more."

He broke free, and escaped back inside his house looking green. Ino frowned, before deciding that enough was enough.

She knew where Team Seven trained —Sasuke-kun's fan club knew— and albeit the training grounds had been deserted for quite a while, now that the team was back in Konoha it would soon be filled with onlookers. She'd come to the end of it…no matter what.

Haruno Shinku took another shot at the marked round circle. It was close to the bull's eye, although it wasn't properly at the centre —the centre had a red dot to aim for. He clicked his tongue, before throwing the shuriken one at the time. They all landed on the trunk, half out of the circle and half inside. It was an improvement.

Really, it was.

Then it was the others' turns. Five seconds, and Naruko had hit with everything she had thrown near the centre. Three seconds, and Sasuke had only bull's eyes. Ten seconds, and Fu had done just as well as Naruko.

He had taken a minute.

"Anyone here is interested in Kenjutsu?" Yugao asked in the end. When nobody answered back, she shrugged. "Very well then," she exhaled. "I saw enough."

She brought a hand to the base of her nose, closing her eyes, as she seemed to be thinking of the right words to use.

"We have a month," she muttered. "Unless you wish to wait for the next time the exam comes in Konoha?"

"Uh?" Naruko inclined her head to the side. "Why? We're awesome! We're all going to pass on the first try, 'ttebayo!"

"Dobe," Sasuke hissed, but the single word was enough.

He was still the dead last of the class. It didn't matter if he could kill an old man in cold blood, or climb a tree. He was still the dead last.

"You all have solid bases in Ninjutsu," that surprised him. He had expected to be called out on that, since he didn't have any skill beyond the basic ones. "You all managed to counter the Genjutsu fast enough to be passable," it was starting to shape up nicely. So maybe he wasn't really the dead last?

"However, Shinku-kun…the state of your Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu is plain horrible," Yugao sighed. "We'll have to work on that, and you'll have to train as hard as you can in this month, but I'm sure you can do it."

He swallowed nervously before nodding.

"That said, we will _all_ have to train hard. The Chuunin exams are important not only because they mark your possible promotion to Chuunin, but also because they allow villages to show off their best and brightest. You will need to know various things in order to become a Chuunin, because it is not just a matter of prowess in battle…but also of this," she tapped the side of her head. "Without a sound mind and a sound body, there is no shinobi."

_**So we're screwed. Hurray!**_

Kizashi Haruno was taking out the new batch of bread from the oven, when he heard the door of the shop open. He turned and looked in surprise at an Uchiha police officer entering the shop with the usual calm and coldness of their clan's trademark ice-face.

"Officer-san," Kizashi smiled. "What can I do for you?"

The shop was deserted so late in the afternoon, but soon the rush of the people returning from the offices would come through the doors and once more, he'd have to deliver fresh bread. It was the trademark of his bakery —and the reason for its success. They baked nearly twenty-four hours a day, delivering fresh bread by the hour so that it always was crispy, rather than letting it become stale during the afternoon.

It did mean that the work was far more than what a normal bakery had to do normally, but it also meant profit and success.

He did need to put money away for his retirement.

"We would like to speak with your son concerning a matter that has come to our attention," the man said dryly. "It concerns the last mission he went on."

"Oh?" Kizashi blinked, "Did something happen?"

The officer looked at him blearily. "You do not know?"

Kizashi made an awkward smile, "I'm busy working, Officer-san. I don't have the time to ask Shinku about his D-ranks."

"I see," silence settled between the two men for a few minutes, with Kizashi growing increasingly anxious.

The fire still crackled in the oven. The smell of fresh bread filled the air.

The Uchiha police officer kept on looking at him with his dark eyes, apparently waiting for something.

"Is…something the matter, Officer?"

"Where can I find your son at this time?"

Kizashi blinked. "Well, as I said before I don't really know. Maybe my wife might know, but she's currently out buying groceries."

"Let me ask you one more question," the Officer said, his right eyebrow rising. "Do you know at least what team your son is in?"

"Oh, yes. He's in Team Seven," Kizashi replied with a small nervous smile. "He said so last time we talked."

"And how far back would that be?"

"Well, two weeks, three…not more than a month," Kizashi remarked. "He wrote to us a note before going off to training camp, and then he was out again for a mission towards Taki…oh, and then to hunt boars in the countryside I think."

The Uchiha Officer looked at him with _pity_.

It unsettled Kizashi extremely.

Uchiha police officers had many looks, ranging from 'Why are you wasting my time' to 'Stop right there, criminal scum!' but 'pity' was not generally among them.

It really wasn't.

"I'm not a father so I can't relate," the officer said suddenly, unexpectedly lowering his voice to a soft tone. "But if I were you, I would close shop for a few days and spend some time with my son."

"Did something bad happen?"

"_Bad_?" the Officer's lips curled in distaste, "Do you know of what happened in the forest of Death? Have you heard of the reason the Takigakure Jinchuuriki is in town? Have _you_ _**any**_ _**idea**_ of what your son's last mission involved? Do you know how many times your son has been in the hospital?"

Kizashi's eyes widened briefly, as the officer's face now showed the full brunt of the 'Uchiha-I'm angry at you' face.

Then the officer turned and left, closing the door with a bang.

Kizashi looked around seemingly lost for a moment, before staring down at the now lukewarm breads. Maybe he could finish up early for once…and ask what had happened to Mebuki —she had seen Shinku last after all.

Then, he'd confront Shinku too.

Sasuke Uchiha was livid as he returned home. He knew it was a crime to impersonate an officer, but it wasn't like he had abused of the power to ask for personal information. He didn't know what made him angrier however —the fact that the man was genuinely clueless, or the fact that Shinku had lied about what missions he had gone on to.

Right now, at the training grounds, Shinku was training to overcome the level of difference between them —he wouldn't make it in time, but at least he was trying. It made Sasuke snarl, thinking of how much the situation was similar to his own a few years before.

When he trained to become as strong as Itachi and nobody seemed to notice, or when there wasn't a day that went by without people comparing him to Itachi, he had felt angry at the entire world. Shinku had felt resigned. It explained his meekness to the point of it being disgusting. It explained his willingness to follow orders, to keep his gaze down.

Since nobody was going to care anyway, why bother raising your voice?

Sasuke had to admit he was incensed and enraged not only because it was wrong, to treat someone like that…but because he could relate.

Well, that ended _**now**_. He wasn't going to let it pass. His chivalric Uchiha blood demanded righteousness.

In the training grounds, as the sun died out, Shinku Haruno breathed in and out deeply.

"Now, remember to exhale when you're receiving a blow," Yugao stated. "It is fundamental not to be caught inhaling, and be sure to twist your body back in the opposite direction of an incoming strike."

Fu was lingering by, while Sasuke and Naruko had left for some reason not specified.

"Another thing is your flinching," Yugao stated plainly. "Averting your gaze from your opponent for even a second is fatal on the battlefield."

"Ah…"

"And then, there's your inability to train with someone else. You're afraid of hurting the other side, and so you actually pull your punches," Yugao finished talking crisply, crossing her arms over her chest. "I cannot really gauge your speed or your power while giving out strikes if you aren't one hundred percent behind a blow when you deliver it," she inclined her head to the side. "A shinobi needs to know when to kill his heart, even during training."

Shinku remained quiet, head low. It was easy to say. To do however, it was very different. It meant risking wounding, hurting, harming. It meant that if by some chance a lucky shot came, someone had to go to the hospital. It meant tears of pain and startled cries, and…

"Fu, come over here," the tanned girl came over with a smile on her face.

"Yes, sensei?"

"Hit that wooden pole with a punch," Yugao pointed to one of the three wooden poles. Fu nodded, before bringing her fist to her side and then letting a light sheen of green chakra cover it. The moment the blow departed, it _shattered_ the pole, leaving behind only smithereens and clouds of wooden shards.

Yugao clapped her hands once. "Very well," the woman took the middle pole, before slamming her own fist with grace. The bark shattered, leaving behind an impression in the wood.

"If you cover your hand with a light sheen of chakra, you won't risk hurting your hands," Yugao explained. "Now why don't you try?"

Shinku stumbled to the last pole, his eyes fixed on the knuckles of his right hand. Well…this wasn't supposed to be difficult. Covering his body with chakra was part of the Shunshin technique, and the hands were the easiest spots to mould chakra inside.

He covered in the light blue sheen of chakra his right hand, and then punched forward closing his eyes. He ground his teeth at the impact, hearing Yugao-sensei's tongue click in dissatisfaction. He opened his eyes blearily, watching as the pole remained perfectly unscathed.

"Well," Yugao sighed. "This is your new exercise. Hit the pole until it cracks."

Yugao-sensei then looked up at the sky, "Well, I have to go and report to the Hokage now, and get someone to replace the pole… it's late enough as it is. Don't overexert yourself," then, she flickered away.

Shinku breathed in deeply, before returning to gaze at the wood pole.

"Hey," Fu chirped, "Aren't you hungry?"

He had a pit of nervousness in his stomach —he wasn't hungry at all.

"No."

Fu blinked, and then shrugged. Shinku ground his teeth as he flung another fist. It didn't scratch the surface.

He threw another.

There was no result.

He threw one more.

Nothing happened.

Fu yawned, before sitting down with her back against the other remaining wooden pole, closing her eyes.

Shinku ground his teeth strongly as he pulled his fist backwards. He slammed it forth with a sickening crack and then yelped, holding on to his bleeding knuckles. "Gah!" he opened and closed his hand repeatedly, breathing in and out deeply. There was blood on the wooden pole now.

It was his blood, but still…

"Are you all right?" Fu asked worriedly, jumping back up and grabbing a hold of his wounded hand. Her hands felt cold to the touch, but as the girl's eyes examined the scrapped knuckles, her face suddenly turned slightly red. "Ah…" she let go of the hand. "Sorry."

"Ah…" he stuttered out. "Fu-san?"

"Y-Yes?" she stammered back.

"W-Would you like…to go and…eat something? Last time…it didn't go well, did it?"

Fu blinked. She smiled then, a warm and happy smile.

"I'd like that, Shinku-kun!"

Shinku inwardly exhaled.

Things were starting to look up.

**Author's notes**

**There was a bit of a pov shift here and there. It's been raining two days and my wrist is killing me…and tomorrow it's Monday so back to University.**

**Hip-Hip, hurray!**


	37. Ordinary Madness

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Everything was a matter of sacrifice. If one sacrificed something, then they would achieve something else. Sacrifice time into training, and you will earn power. Sacrifice money, and you will buy food. Sacrifice your pain, your suffering, your sweat and your blood, and you will successfully plough through the adversities of life.

Kakashi Hatake sacrificed a lot in his life. He sacrificed Obito when he refused to complete the mission. He sacrificed Rin when she became a ticking time bomb for Konoha. If he had to say it, everything had begun the day he had seen his father sacrifice himself to atone for sins he hadn't committed.

He had always been proud of his father. After mother's death, it had only been them and no one else. The house was empty for most of the time, as his father had to go on missions. He had graduated at five, in time of war. At six, he had become a Chuunin, killing more than enough men to dye his hair red with their blood. Graduation to Jounin had to wait until he was thirteen, but all along…he had been ready to do what the mission said.

Shinobi were soldiers who endured the worst agonies and survived. They were fighters who clawed their way out of death's grip time and time again until they succeeded in stabbing the skeletal bitch in the back, in severing the spine and shattering the scythe.

They were both bringers of death and walkers in the shadows.

It was poetic and ironic, when in the end it all boiled down to how well one could kill or protect someone.

There was a moment of quiet silence, as he contemplated what to do next. The mornings, he had to spend them in the T&I department for at least two hours, helping crack down a few tough guys with his sharingan-illusions. The afternoons, he was doing D-ranks and sometimes following the team around.

It was _humiliating_. He was an instrument of death and war. He could slice a head or nick a vein from miles away and yet…yet he was washing a floor with a dingy old mop in a restaurant, or smiling to an elderly woman who needed someone to paint her walls.

He had to weed a garden next, when his sixth sense tingled.

His Icha-Icha sixth sense that had served him faithfully began to tingle.

Small white paper flakes fell from the sky, a few orange, many white and black, and a couple green. His eye narrowed. A word stuck out from a slightly bigger flake of paper, and with it Kakashi's heart plummeted down.

It wasn't possible. His precious! His precious treasure!

Naruko puffed her chest out from atop the nearby rooftop, dusting her hands off a job well done. "You thought we wouldn't ask dad about your cache uh," Naruko chuckled darkly. "Nobody escapes the holy punishment of the beautiful Naruko-sama, Kakashi-Nii! Nobody!"

Cackling like an evil-doer, Naruko flickered away.

Kakashi fell on his knees, sobbing as his precious and last copy of Icha-Icha blew away carried by the wind.

He cried from his only eye the fakest of tears.

He really didn't care about the series, but he had to put up a front. If people knew he didn't like it, but preferred another genre of stories…they would target those, and it wouldn't do.

It was better for enemies to target smut books, than his true passion…_animal_ books.

He loved to raise dogs after all —how _no one_ had realized that simple fact was due to him being extremely secretive over it. Kakashi Hatake was all about 'Icha-Icha smut' and being late. Nobody knew he was also a dog breeder, an animal lover and a member of the afternoon green tea society.

Nobody would ever know.

He'd kill them if he had to.

Shinku Haruno ended up walking Fu back home —which apparently was in one of the nicest sides of town. Namely put, Fu was living in the Hokage mansion.

"Thanks for the dinner," Fu said hesitantly as they neared the gates. The guards within probably recognized her, because they didn't bother the two of them still 'loitering' in front of it. She brought both arms behind her back, stretching lightly. "It was nice."

Shinku chuckled just a bit. "I didn't end up nearly dying, so I think it was nice too."

Fu pouted for a moment, before locking eyes with him once more. There was a little smack on the side of his cheek —it happened so fast he didn't even realize _what_ it was at first— and then Fu, red in her face, added.

"See you tomorrow, Shinku-kun!" and with that she went off.

Shinku stared at Fu retreating for a moment.

He blinked. He brought his right hand to his cheek. Had…had…

"Ohi," one of the guards held a snicker, "Close your mouth or you'll eat flies."

Startled, Shinku sheepishly nodded and left.

He returned home to a lit kitchen.

Frowning, he peeked inside. Both of his parents stood waiting, and…and that _terrorized_ him.

He knew there was no reason to be afraid, but…but it was the first time in months that both his parents were back home with him so early. Generally, they were back way beyond dinnertime, when he was already asleep.

"Sit down Shinku," his mother's tone was sharp and stern. He swallowed nervously. His mother always had a kind voice…except when angry, then her eyes narrowed, her face grew cold, and she spoke with such a stern voice that it made even his father whimper in a corner.

He obeyed without hesitation.

"Where did you have your training camp?" his mother asked firmly. His eyes widened for a brief second, before he gripped at his knees and looked downwards.

"In a forest…"

"Where?" his mother pressed on, slamming her right hand on the table with such a bang that he inwardly screamed as his eyes widened even further. "Don't you dare lie to me young man!"

"Th-The F-Forest of D-Death," he stuttered out.

"The forest of Death?" Mebuki Haruno inclined her head to the side for a moment, before her face grew angry. "The forest of Death!? Is your sensei a psychopathic murderer!? Why didn't you tell us!? Why did you go along!? The forest of Death isn't a place for Genin! It's not a place for training anyone! It's dangerous and you could have died!"

Mebuki breathed in deeply, before continuing.

"Today, a police officer came to talk with your father. He was looking for you concerning something about the last mission you did. They had an _enlightening_ conversation," Mebuki remarked. "Well…what happened in Taki? What happened in your last mission?"

Shinku clenched his fists.

"Why do you care?" he hissed back. "You never cared before."

"Don't talk back like that to your mother!" his father exclaimed. "The police was looking for you Shinku! It's no tiny matter! What did you do!?"

"_**I killed a man!**_" Shinku snarled back, slamming his palms against the table. "_**That's what I did! I killed a man because I had to!**_"

This time it was his parents' turn to be shocked.

"Shinku…" his mother began, her voice now soft.

"_**No! Don't 'Shinku' me!**_" he snarled. "_**I did what I had to do! I killed even more during the Taki mission, where I nearly fucking drowned in one of their goddamn pools!"**_ breathing in deeply, Shinku shuddered and the coughed. "_**I've had my limbs broken and clawed my way out of a damn cave, so no! No, I don't care! You don't get to 'Shinku' me now! Not now!"**_

His eyes narrowed.

"You didn't care before, there's no reason to start now."

With that, Shinku exhaled and fell back down on the chair, gasping for air.

The silence in the kitchen lasted for a few precious seconds, which felt like hours. Beads of sweat fell down Shinku's sides of the face as he evened his breathing.

"Dear," Mebuki whispered softly. "We didn't know. You…you never told us. We weren't ignoring you…we were working, but if you needed us…you could have just _asked_."

"Son," Kizashi said next, "It's not like we threw you out of the bakery whenever you came around, right? Sure, we're busy with the business but…you could have come over at any time."

Shinku said nothing for a while, keeping his eyes closed.

"Ah…it's just…it _hurts_ to come back to an empty house," he finally whispered.

"You never said anything," Kizashi awkwardly replied. "We thought you were fine, son…really. You could have just told us."

"I'm…I'm sorry," he meekly stammered.

"Well, now that we've got everything out of our systems," Mebuki said with a light tone. "Why would the police ask about you?"

"I…don't know," he acquiesced. "I did nothing wrong…I followed orders…"

"Well, no need to break our head over it," Kizashi shrugged. "They'll come again soon I suppose," the man turned thoughtful. "Right! So…I can't say I understand what you're going through. I had the luck of going through quite a peaceful time during my term as Genin and Chuunin, barring the Kyuubi of course…never had to kill…then again Chiwa-sensei barely got us out of Konoha…the man was scared of his own shadow."

"Are you seeing someone for this?" Mebuki asked with concern in her voice. "I know a few people, if you want someone to talk with and…"

He shook his head. "It's…fine. Really…I…I coped."

"All right," his mother nodded slowly. "Hey," she said then, "How about we talk of something less moody? How has your team been treating you?"

His lips twitched upwards lightly. "They're…really nice."

"I'm glad," Mebuki muttered. "Who's your sensei?"

"H…Uzuki-sensei."

"Uzuki?" Mebuki frowned. "I can't place the name."

"She's a newly made Jounin," he murmured back. "She was Anbu once."

"Oh, well…you're in good hands," Kizashi chuckled, "An Anbu as a teacher uh? And your teammates? Did you set your eyes on the girl of the team already?"

"N-No," he shook his head. "We're…a six man team," he exhaled. "There's two Jounin-sensei and four Genin."

"Uh, that's quite impractical. Why?"

Shinku clenched his hands against his knees.

"B-Because I'm…I was…the dead last of the academy."

"What!? You told us you were in the middle of the class!" Mebuki exclaimed angrily. "Really! You're in a heap of trouble over this right now young man, _Shannaro_!"

"Mebuki, wait," Kizashi hastily stood to calm down his wife. "Now, Shinku," his father said with a serious tone. "Why don't you just tell us, instead of us having to pry your mouth open word by word? What are you afraid of? We're your parents…you can tell us anything."

"I'm…" he whispered, "I'm…in the team with the Uchiha's clan heir and the Yondaime's daughter…as well as the Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi and Hatake Kakashi…"

"Oh," Kizashi blinked. The man then laughed. "That was a good one! Now, seriously, what are you embarrassed about? Are they all pretty girls or ugly men or something?"

Shinku just stared at him, before shaking his head slowly.

"Ohi, Shinku," Kizashi said with his face turning paler. "You're in the team with the hero and the son of the police chief?"

"Your teacher is the Yondaime's prized pupil?" Mebuki echoed after a moment of silence.

"Yes," Shinku muttered. "Yes…" he repeated. "I'm in Team Seven."

Mebuki fainted.

"Dear! Now, now!" Kizashi quickly grabbed Mebuki. "Shinku! Bring me a glass of water now!"

He hurried to obey, watching as his father gripped on the glass with one hand and then threw the contents straight on his mother's face. He always admired the balls of his father, even when he knew he would be getting hell out of it.

"Shinku!" Mebuki gripped at his shoulders. "Have you any idea what this means!?" she said with a bright smile. "You're practically set to become a Chuunin! Ah, I was worried, but this is going to solve everything nicely!"

"W-What!?" he spluttered out.

"You've got _connections_! Teammates usually stay friends through their entire career! You could even become a Jounin!" his mother excitedly began to babble, speaking of 'tax reductions', 'low interest loans' and things like 'family rearing' and 'finding a nice girl'.

He took a step back.

"No."

"Uh?"

"I said no."

"Shinku?" his mother frowned.

"I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to…use my friendship with my teammates for this. If…If I'll go anywhere…I'll go with my own strength."

"But Shinku, dear," Mebuki murmured. "I'm thinking about you. You can barely hold yourself together…you know I love you, but you're a failure as a shinobi."

"A…failure?" he mouthed out.

"You know I'm an honest folk, son," his father remarked. "But you have to admit…it's enticing. You'd set yourself for life if…"

"No," he hissed out once more.

There was a tense silence following Shinku's last refusal. It lasted until Mebuki sighed and nodded.

"Fine," his mother muttered. "Waste this opportunity."

Huffing, his mother left the kitchen.

His father remained for a moment more, before putting his right hand on Shinku's shoulder. "Son," he began, "since we have the time…you and I need to have a talk."

His father smiled. "I remember my father gave me the talk after I became a shinobi. You need to understand a few things since you'll be travelling a lot in your early Genin days and…"

Shinku turned, like his name, crimson.

"D-Dad!?"

Laughing, Kizashi _explained_.

Shinku would have rather returned in the forest of Death, with Zabuza as a plushie, rather than hear a single word.

The next morning, Sasuke observed his teammate. He was twitching. Sasuke frowned, before waving his hand in front of him.

"You in there?"

He didn't answer. He did stutter out something that might have been 'bee' or 'flower' or even 'physical interactions' but for once Sasuke couldn't properly catch the meaning of it.

"Shinku, you here with me?" Sasuke asked again.

Shinku blinked. "Y-Yes."

"Did something happen?"

Shinku shook his head. "N-No, nothing."

Sasuke gripped his shoulders tightly, narrowing his eyes as he checked for any signs of violence on Shinku's face. Shinku stared perplexed at Sasuke's action, wondering just what was going on. "They didn't hit you, did they?" Sasuke snarled out.

"W-Who?" he blinked.

Sasuke clicked his tongue against the top of his throat, before growling lightly. "You know who I'm talking about."

Shinku blinked again.

Was he referring to the day before?

"Ah…no, no," he shook his head. "We just trained, I scraped my hand on the wood but—"

"Argh!" Sasuke growled, his hands in the air as if he wanted to wring someone. "I'm talking about your parents!"

"What? What about them?" Shinku asked, before his mouth opened slightly in surprise. "Wait. You sent a police officer to check on them?"

His voice inflexed with a bubbling feeling, as his eyes narrowed.

"You still…I told you I was _not_ abused!"

"It wasn't because of that," Sasuke muttered, averting his gaze. "Look, I know what it feels like to be ignored or…"

"_**Want to know something funny?**_" Shinku snarled then, his eyes cold, "_**No matter what shit you spout out, it still doesn't give you the right to barge in my life like you own it. I don't care if you're the Uchiha's heir or my teammate, my life is mine to deal with!"**_

Sasuke's face was comical.

"Shin…ku?"

"_**Have I made myself clear? Uchiha?"**_ Shinku spat out once more.

"I was just worried," Sasuke muttered, "I'm…sorry."

Shinku blinked, his eyes softening up as his body pulled back from his threatening position. It was like watching the night and the day. Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but angry-Shinku was…well, slightly intimidating.

If anything else because his eyes told he would kill at the slightest slight.

"Ah…" Shinku stammered out. "I'm…sorry too," he awkwardly said. "Just…I don't barge in your lives…can't you do the same?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Well…" Shinku hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Is there anything else I should know?"

Sasuke averted his gaze.

"Sasuke," Shinku said calmly, "What. Else."

"I…might have set my mother on it."

Shinku sputtered out a strained 'Why!?' before he brought his right hand to his face and closed his eyes. "No, no…this is over. Now, I'm sure…this is done with, all right? No more 'abused' talks. No more social services. No more officers…understood? Last chance, I swear if you don't drop it…"

"I'll talk with my mother when we finish training," Sasuke replied awkwardly. "I'm sorry…"

"You know, I'm…I'm touched by this concern but…I'm not a vase, I'm not going to break out of nowhere…"

A sharp shriek soon echoed in the air.

Sasuke flinched, before paling.

Shinku turned, gazing wide-eyed at a veritable froth of girls and women standing to the sides of the training ground and holding…_flags_. They held flags and banners with words like 'Sasuke-sama my heart is yours' and 'Sasuke-kun marry me'.

"Oh no," Sasuke mouthed out in sheer horror. "The fans found out where we're training."

Somewhere else, Kakashi calmly began to count his Ryo bills. He counted Fifty-Thousand Ryos for telling the Sasuke Fan Club, and Seventy-Five Thousand for telling the Naruko Fan Club.

Chuckling to himself, Kakashi began to walk to his morning punishment…knowing he now had enough funds to get back all the destroyed Icha-Icha.

"They look…many?" Shinku hazarded with a nervous smile.

"Where's our angel Naruko-Tan!?" a slightly overweight man yelled holding a bright pink coat with a rendition of Naruko making the victory sign.

"W-What are those?" Shinku hissed in fright.

"That's Naruko's Fan Club," Sasuke shuddered. "Why do you think she dislikes them so much?"

"Aren't training grounds off limits to…people who aren't allowed?" he whispered.

"Tell that to all of them," Sasuke retorted. "At least they're keeping their distances."

"Ohi, who's the bastard close to my Uke-sama!?" a lean and mean looking guy yelled out.

Sasuke shuddered some more.

Shinku remembered his nightmare. "Where is sensei?"

"I don't know," Sasuke murmured. "I'm wary of getting in an argum…"

"Ohi, you! Stop talking to Sasuke-sama so casually!" a girl yelled a bit louder. "Sasuke-sama likes girls with long hair!"

Shinku gazed with his mouth slightly open at the girl in question, before turning to stare at Sasuke. "Are they completely bonkers?"

Sasuke made a strangled noise. "You don't know the battles my mother has to make to keep my underwear away from those guys," he turned slightly red. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't, and I didn't hear that," Shinku nodded back sagely.

"Stop being so friendly with one another! Sasuke-sama doesn't need…"

"You know, I'm actually curious as to why they're keeping their distance," Shinku deadpanned. "I mean…"

"There's a restriction order," Sasuke stated plainly. "And I might have accidently used the sharingan once to Genjutsu them all into running naked in tar and duck feathers."

Shinku once more stared at Sasuke wide-eyed.

"I blame Naruko's influence," the Uchiha said sagely. "She actually was quite proud of taking the blame for that."

Yugao Uzuki arrived then, flanked by a small group of Uchiha police officers who proceeded to disperse the crowd.

"I acquired back up," Yugao remarked. "We can begin."

"What of the Dobe?" Sasuke asked, looking around for his missing teammate.

"She and Fu-chan will train in utilizing their Bijuu…hence they will train outside of Konoha in a non-disclosed location."

Shinku warily looked from Sasuke to Yugao and vice-versa.

"First off…laps. Do as many as you can before you feel your muscles burning," Yugao spoke quickly and without inflexion. "Do not slow down your pace."

Perplexed, they both complied. It wasn't difficult. It seemed easy enough, if a bit boring.

At lap number thirteen, Shinku was hallucinating.

"You can do it! Go forth, Shinku!" Inner-Shinku exclaimed, running as a ghostly apparition from his side. "Hold your breath! Fight on! Come on now, it's just one more lap!"

"Gah…" he coughed. Next to him, Sasuke was holding on admirably without even a single bead of sweat.

"You know, our record at the academy was of seven laps," Inner-Shinku remarked. "Seven out of ten…barely passable, wasn't it? We're at thirteen! It's good, isn't it?"

"Speak…for…yourself," Shinku hissed out.

"I think the record was twenty-five for Sasuke and…uhm, ninety-seven for Naruko? She ran around the school until the bell rung, so I can't say for sure but…I think it was ninety-seven."

"Don't let your mind wander!" Yugao barked abruptly, scaring Shinku back into running in silence, with his Inner-Shinku's ghostly form disappearing in nothingness.

He did not reach the end of the thirteenth lap, but collapsed before.

"You realize I meant you had to stop when your muscles began to burn, not when you were prone to collapsing," Yugao murmured as she knelt down to check on him.

"Gah…ah…yes?"

"Take five, chew on this," a small round sphere found its way in his mouth. He chewed on it without overthinking it much. It did taste bitter, but soon a chocolate chip found its way once more in his mouth, and he happily swallowed it all.

He felt more and more like a dog now that he thought about it. He just needed a tail to waggle.

His breathing evened out in a short time. He began to blink rapidly, as he opened and closed his hands. He felt…fine.

He felt…energized.

It was a strange feeling, since just a mere minute ago he had been on the verge of collapsing. Sasuke made yet one more lap —he wasn't apparently sore with just thirteen— and then stopped.

"Now," Yugao stated as Shinku walked once more close to Sasuke. "What we are going to do is simply sparring. We're going to take rounds, but before doing that…" she sighed. "Shinku, you'll have to get over your fear of harming people…go to the wooden pole, all right?"

He awkwardly nodded and went off.

Soon, the sounds of Uzuki-sensei sparring with Sasuke filled the air, while in his corner he kept on hitting to no avail the wooden trunk.

_**Dull repetitive hitting will get us nowhere.**_

Shinku ground his teeth.

_**Don't tell me you feel angry at being left out from 'special' training. You had your own, didn't you? This is just being petty and jealous.**_

_I know that. I'm not angry._

_**Yes? Then why are you thinking of finding out where Kakashi-sensei is?**_

_I'm…I'm not._

_**Don't lie to yourself.**_

_It's…It's just…_

_**Train until your knuckles bleed. Train until your muscle spasm. Keep it up, Shinku. Maybe one day, you'll get to stand simply behind the rest rather than way below them all.**_

_Aren't you supposed to be on my side?_

_**Aren't you supposed to be using your brain? I'm not against you looking for Kakashi. I'm all for it. We need to find out where he lives however.**_

_Naruko probably knows._

_**Ask her.**_

_Yes, I can imagine. 'Why?' 'Oh, nothing, my psychopathic side wants to chat with him'._

_**I'm not your psychopathic side, and you are the one who is thinking of talking with him. I'm not thinking about it, I'm for it.**_

The fist slammed once more in the wooden pole. He didn't even feel the pain in his knuckles. The light sheen of chakra didn't work in cracking the wood, but it didn't give him bloody knuckles. He exhaled.

He wouldn't talk with Kakashi. He'd manage, somehow.

"How are you doing?" Yugao asked, appearing out of nowhere. "Still nowhere?"

"How does this help?" Shinku asked quietly. "I mean…I'd break a wooden pole in the end, right? How does that help?"

"Well, why can't you break one to begin with? If it's physical strength, then you're training it. If it's the wrong form, then you're looking for the right one. If you can't even break a wooden pole…this isn't a matter of strength, but of mind. Why can't you?"

"Why would I?"

"It's just a pole. A trunk cut and placed on the ground. It's nothing else. Nobody is going to be angry at you for breaking it," Shinku flinched. "They'll just substitute it with another."

Yugao sighed. "Come on," her eyes settled on him. "Give it another try. Concentrate this time. You want to break the pole apart. You want to use your strength to crack it. You don't need to reduce it to splinters like Fu did. Do your best."

Shinku awkwardly nodded, and then took a deep breath.

_**Remember Hibachi.**_

_It's not…_

Yugao exhaled when the punch hit, no visible changes from the one before.

"Someone needs a hand?" Kakashi appeared, holding on to a newly bought Icha-Icha.

"Hatake-san," Yugao turned to hiss at the man. "Already done in T&I?"

"Of course," Kakashi hummed. "I'm thinking that maybe you're using the wrong method with him," the Jounin added. "There is a time where taking things seriously can become…too serious," the silver-haired shinobi closed his Icha-Icha. "Why don't you let me try?"

"The Hokage said—"

"If you fail in teaching him, he'll die in the exams," Kakashi remarked. "Unless sensei has decided to substitute Shinku here with Fu? I'd do that actually. Better to have two Jinchuuriki than one and a dead-last failure."

Shinku's bile rose to his throat.

"It's the only logical conclusion after all: he's not on par with the others, frankly," Kakashi shrugged. "It would be best if he simply stopped being a shinobi, but then I'd have to get another washed off bastard and I'm starting to like this one."

"Hatake-san," Yugao growled, but Kakashi kept his single eye on Shinku.

"Insults don't work, they hurt, but they don't work…well, all that's left is pretty much killer instinct."

"Hatake!"

Kakashi Hatake was going to kill him.

It was a simple well known realization that hit him like a sledge hammer the moment his eyes finally locked on with the single one of the Jounin-sensei. His heart drummed in his chest hard as his breathing grew ragged. The man's right hand went to the kunai at his pouch and he knew he was going to die. The man was going to strike him, slice his neck, tear apart his stomach and snap his guts.

He knew that. He understood that.

He didn't want that.

Shinku began to run away, taking more than a few steps before Kakashi's form loomed in front of him a moment later. He screamed as he punched with his right hand the man's guts…and then watched as they flew around.

"Sometimes," Kakashi said from his right, his hands slowly unclasping from a Genjutsu seal. "All one needs is the proper motivation."

"Hatake!" Yugao snarled, "That's…"

"Ah," Shinku breathed in deeply, before exhaling and looking at the trunk. His heart still drummed in his chest, a smile twitched his lips. He was alive. He felt alive.

The wooden trunk in front of him now had an impression. It was barely an inch…but it was _there_.

"Told you," Kakashi shrugged. "You'll need to put him in life or death situations if you want to train him properly, Uzuki-san."

"That's preposterous," Yugao retorted. "He's just a Genin, there's no way it will work! No Genin should ever be the subject of killing intent, much less be trained on fear of death! There are laws in place in Konoha! The Yondaime being your teacher doesn't grant you the right to torture your students!"

Sasuke was watching the scene from his spot, but while Yugao spoke heated words towards Kakashi, his eyes caught something else.

It was Shinku but…at the same time it wasn't.

Sharingan or not, Uchiha were generally sharp-eyed all the same. Trained into profiling from a young age, it was easy for any Uchiha to recognize at first glance a possible criminal by the way they walked nervously, or by how they held their gaze low as if to avoid discovery. Of course, it wasn't a reliable thing, and in the end it could still fail but…

There wasn't Shinku standing behind Uzuki-sensei. Well, there was, but it was the Shinku of the bridge, not the Shinku of the team.

It was another Shinku, and this one was mouthing words to Kakashi. The Jounin had noticed, while Yugao —enraged as she was— had not.

_Train me._

Kakashi, to that..._nodded_.

**Author's notes**

**Luck has it that my professors got a few sick days in.**

**Not much time, but enough to roll out a chapter before Thursday.**


	38. Massacring One's Own Sanity

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Konoha's sewer system was not simply 'big'. It was humongous. The smell of shit hung from every wall, the skittering masses of rats poured away from the light and into the deep darkness.

"You know," Kakashi hummed. "Anbu trainees get 'shit' duty sometimes too. Training camp staying waist deep in this stuff," he remarked. "Disgusting, isn't it?"

Shinku felt the need to hurl. He was upside down —just like Kakashi— walking on the ceiling of the sewer.

"Uhm," Kakashi hummed. "Where is the leak then…sometimes, the walls crack and open up, so the smell reaches the roadside. Funny how Konoha is pretty much built on shit, right?"

"Every village…has a sewer."

"Then every village is built on shit, every city is built on shit, and everything else is built on shit," Kakashi deadpanned. "What a world of shit."

"Ah…yes?"

"They're awfully protective, aren't they?" Kakashi remarked. "Your teammates, that is. Childish, bratty, spoon fed…but good teammates all the same, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Would be a pity if you abandoned them to complete a mission," Kakashi said plainly. "They probably wouldn't find your body, if someone dumped it down here."

Shinku tensed, his eyes trailing around.

"So easy to rile you up," Kakashi chuckled. "You know, the kunoichi in my team had totally the hots for me," he said as they took a turn to the right. Blood was starting to gush at Shinku's head, but he ground his teeth and concentrated. Failure would mean ending up head first in a pool of excrements…and he dearly didn't want that experience.

"I knew that, and I completely ignored her because I thought feelings were unnecessary. Want to know what happened in the end? She ended up falling in love with my other teammate, but couldn't even confess because he died on a mission…" thoughtful, Kakashi finally stopped. "Now, I can't recall if it's right or left here…"

Shinku stilled.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm pretty sure there is a crack to the left, but we aren't going there just yet. You know, when the third booted Orochimaru out, it was because he discovered his secret laboratories in the sewers. Fun fact was, Orochimaru not only used the sewers as an easy corpse disposal tool, but also had a training ground down here."

"The snake sannin trained down here?"

"When he didn't want to be disturbed training forbidden techniques? Where else? Would you go looking for a powerful snake sannin in the middle of a sewer?"

Kakashi took to the right. "Should be through here…"

Shinku began to walk again.

"Anyway, as I was saying…yeah, my teammate died on a mission, and the girl was inconsolable. I felt bad for it too, since I could have saved him…probably. The mission came first however, so I left him to die. I consoled the girl to the best that I could, but she ended up on a mission to Kiri and we separated. When I met her again, I had to slam a Raikiri through her chest to prevent her from unleashing a Bijuu known as the three tails in Konoha," Kakashi's voice was carefree. "I can't recall if her last words were 'thank you' or 'I'm pregnant'."

Shinku swallowed the bile in his throat.

"I'm generally against talking about my private life with anyone…so you should count yourself lucky to be in the few people I do talk about this with. Think about it, not even Naruko or Sasuke know of this tiny little detail of my life."

"Why me?"

Kakashi chuckled. "You still haven't realized it, kid? Think about it. Take away my sharingan and what do you have? I still made Jounin at thirteen without one, you know."

"I…I don't get it."

"Oh, with time you will," Kakashi remarked. "With time, you will."

They ceased moving, as beneath them was no longer the river of excrements flowing by, but a marble and surprisingly clean pavement.

With a quick jump, Kakashi landed softly on the pavement feet first.

Shinku carefully walked his way to the sides of the tunnel, taking the easy way down.

They walked in silence afterwards, for a few minutes at least before the pavement began to grow larger, becoming a circular platform that held nothing but smooth walls deeply carved by gashes and holes.

"There are still the signs of Orochimaru's training," Kakashi remarked. Dried blood was on the ground. "Nobody's cared about cleaning this place up or bringing any stuff..."

Kakashi eye-smiled and then neared a spot on the wall, where he moved aside a fake rock panel —it was white painted wood actually— to reveal a few scrolls.

"Well, nobody except me."

There was an unrolling of a scroll, soon followed by a poof of smoke. An armchair, a desk and a radio soon appeared, followed by a few more key items of furniture one would normally find in a living room, rather than in the depths of the sewers.

"The smell's no longer disturbing you, right?" Kakashi remarked. "Here I generally train my dogs to sniff out things beneath this stench. They can smell something down here, they can smell it anywhere."

Shinku gazed wide-eyed as the man took out a dog-training book and began to flip its pages.

"Now, you go back and find the crack. Once you have found it, report back here. Careful along the way…some say there area alligators down here —Orochimaru's past experiments required a few— and others claim there are worse things…like monsters and the likes."

Shinku exhaled before turning back towards the tunnel he had come from.

Kakashi watched him leave with his only eye, and the moment his back disappeared from sight…he flickered away.

It _was_ training time.

Yugao Uzuki had a bad feeling. She crossed her arms over her chest the moment she returned to find the training ground empty. Shinku generally kept on hitting the pole until way beyond sunrise —she had no doubt there were troubles at home, the poor thing. Still, he wasn't there.

He had probably gone home, maybe to have an early dinner. She couldn't understand why he couldn't even dent the pole with her teaching him, but had done so in less than a few minutes with Hatake staring at him. It was preposterous. She wasn't a bad teacher.

Maybe she mothered him too much, but he looked so scrawny. He was sort of like Hayate had been in his academy age. He just needed the trademark cough. Maybe she shouldn't have mothered him to begin with, but it was just something she always did.

A few minutes of quiet contemplation later, and Yugao decided she'd check at his home.

Shinku's house was surprisingly devoid of activity. The lights were out, and as she carefully made her way inside —being an Anbu meant it was trivial enough to open a locked window— she gave a look around for any hint on where her wayward student could have gone.

His room was neat, and barely touched. His sister's room was just next to his, and looked not only cleaned recently but also utterly untouched. Shinku probably had a neat freak of a sister. His parents' room was within standards, the bath appeared clean enough —the glass on the mirror was cracked, dried blood was upon it.

She catalogued it away for another moment, and then headed downstairs. She remembered the hallway and the kitchen, the table holding a packed lunch and a note on it.

_Sorry about yesterday, dear. You know I just worry about you. Love, mom. Ps: we'll be taking a few days of rest this weekend, how about we go somewhere as a family?_

Beneath the note, scribbled in a small calligraphy that was Shinku's, was the reply.

_Busy training. No need._

So her student had gone back home, before leaving once more. It smelled fishy.

She made her way outside once more, closing the window behind her before taking to the roof of the house. If he wasn't at home and was training…

Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"_Hatake…"_ she growled.

Naruko gasped for air. A cold bucket of water slammed against her face, making her shudder. "No resting 'ttebane!" her mother yelled. "You can't show him any weakness!"

She groaned. Her mother was terrible when it came to training. Training to use the Kyuubi sucked. It sucked heavily. She didn't have her mother's special chakra, which made it easier to control it. She just had to do with the Shiki Fuin.

"The Sandaime sacrificed himself to seal the Kyuubi in you, Naruko! He entrusted the future of Konoha to you, you understand 'ttebane!?"

"But mom…" she whined.

"No! You nearly died the last time the enemy caught you! This will not happen again, do you understand me?" her mother's voice now filled with worry.

Fu meanwhile happily sailed in the air without a worry. She was training with the Yondaime in speed! It was fun, trying to catch the paint balls and send them back before they detonated...and making sure not to break them.

She giggled as another popped in mid-air rather than on her or the Yondaime.

The bright blue paint fell downwards, slushing Naruko in blue.

"Gah! Is this a declaration of war!?"

"Naruko! Concentrate!" Kushina yelled. "Ignore them and close your eyes. Once more, try to visualize the seal!"

Naruko grumbled under her breath, before obeying. The sensation of the paint hardening on her skin just added another layer of difficulty to it, but visualizing the seal was easy.

It was dealing with the Kyuubi that wasn't easy at all.

The Kyuubi's giant crimson eyes stared at her with pure undiluted venom.

"Ohi!" Naruko yelled. "You done growling like a mangy mutt!?"

The Kyuubi simply growled, lashing out with its claws and tails against the seal's iron bars. They didn't shatter nor break, and they did look as if they had never been scathed to begin with. Yet every time Naruko was afraid she'd see the signs of wear and tear here and there, she dreaded the day the seal would start to fail.

Because if it did, when it did…she'd die.

"I will never aid my jailers! Better to be gone forever!" the Kyuubi roared, showing its teeth. "I will fight you every step of the way, bastard Namikaze!"

"Why can't you be as helpful as Fu's Bijuu? Why do you have to be such a mangy mutt!?"

"I am a prisoner! Would you cooperate with your jailers, insignificant whore!?"

"Hey! I'm not a whore!" Naruko shot right back.

"You're an insufferable horrendous wench! You're a putrid sack of flesh that should burn in the fires of hell! You're…"

"Argh!" Naruko yelled as she left the place. Kushina looked at her with narrowed eyes once more.

"Well?"

"HE'S A BASTARD!" Naruko yelled. "Come on! Can't I learn the rasengan instead!? I promise I'll master it in less than a month 'ttebayo!"

"You can't let him rile you up, Naruko," Kushina retorted hotly. "Get to it, once more."

Naruko pouted. She was sure her teammates weren't being tortured like this at all.

Shinku dodged the blow.

It was stupid, in retrospect, to dodge a blow by jumping when you were upside down. Gravity didn't work the way you were accustomed to after all.

He yelled before bringing his feet down on the putrid pool of excrements with enough chakra to keep him not only afloat, but a few inches above the disgusting liquid too.

Then he flickered straight on the side of the wall, avoiding a ferocious blow once more coming from a strange humanoid creature covered in scales. This had to be his luck.

Of course, not only he had to get lost in the middle of the sewer system of Konoha, but he also had to stumble upon an old experiment from Orochimaru himself. He swore under his breath, eying from his spot on the wall the creature gazing back at him with its snapping jaws.

The thing was scary. It was hungry…and apparently, it liked to eat human meat.

He ran across the wall, the bulky creature slamming its fist against the side of the wall and breaking it into chunks.

"What are the chances?" Shinku muttered, "What were the chances? Oh, I swear Kakashi did it on purpose. I'm sure he handpicked the mission to send me here."

"Dodge!" he jumped from the wall, catching his breath as he skidded across the murky pool once more to the other side. He probably would have to burn his sandals thoroughly…and maybe wash his feet a lot.

The beast appeared to be holding on to the walls with its nails and claws, and its rudimentary tail helped him to stand upright.

"How about you let me go?" Shinku warily asked. "How about you just…stop trying to kill me?"

If he could get back to Kakashi's…there!

The moment the beast jumped for him once more, he flung his entire body in mid-air. The tail of the beast swished then, the creature doing an air pirouette. The alligator-like limb slammed into Shinku's chest, taking out his air and cracking his ribs most certainly, as he crashed against the sides of the sewer's tunnel.

Holding his breath, Shinku stumbled back on his feet and ran. He wobbled on the slippery floor, before slipping a falling on his back, sliding a few more meters with the creature hot on his tail.

He'd have to burn the flak jacket too if this kept up.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Shinku yelled as he reached for the training area. "Kakashi…sensei?"

The area was empty.

He turned and swallowed nervously. The beast was still there. His sensei wasn't.

"Kai," he pleaded.

Nothing happened.

"Kai."

Again, nothing happened as the jaws of the beast opened up and distended, revealing the sharp fangs and the glinting saliva drooling down its maws.

Shinku gripped at his kunai. "Well…if this is a Genjutsu, I swear the moment I leave it I'm kicking Kakashi's balls."

The beast snorted. "Ah!" Shinku exclaimed. "I knew it! This is a Genjutsu!"

Then the beast charged ahead. The claws tore at Shinku's chest, before the mouth snapped down on his shoulder making him scream in agonizing pain.

He twitched a moment more, before his eyes finally focused back on the training grounds where Kakashi looked at him with a bored gaze. His sharingan eye was out and spinning lightly.

"The same trick is starting to get old, sensei," Shinku remarked dryly.

"What is the difference between 'feeling' pain and 'being' in pain?" Kakashi remarked. "In one month, and with little time, I can teach you very little…but I can _show_ you a lot."

"Genjutsu used in training? When did you come up with it?"

"I didn't. Uchiha use this method to rely information on the battlefield. An eye-glance and they can deliver a full speech to anyone in less than a split second."

"Is there something the sharingan can't do?" Shinku queried, a snort in his throat.

"Brew coffee," Kakashi replied. "Now enough wasting time…it is chakra consuming to keep this up."

Kakashi was gone the next moment, and the beast was back.

"Well," Shinku exhaled. "It doesn't look that bleak now that…"

The thing's tail pierced through his chest.

He screamed from the outright agony of having his own lungs ripped from the inside out.

Shinku fell on the ground hurling, trembling and then gazing wide eyed at Kakashi who simply hummed back.

"Well, is there a difference? I think it's that you aren't going to die but…I wonder, how many times can a man 'die' without feeling death? You're lucky I am not using Tsukuyomi. You wouldn't survive three days of continuous deaths…"

"There is a technique like that?" Shinku trembled like a leaf.

"Yes, there is," Kakashi smiled. "Maybe we'll get to that…if you're too slow and we need extra time. A few seconds become three full days…would do wonders."

"All right, all right," Shinku coughed. "I'm…"

The beast was back.

Shinku jumped backwards, avoiding a swipe and then rolled on the ground as the clawed right foot of the creature crushed down where he had been a moment before. It was all in his mind, but he felt tired all the same. Maybe he actually was moving in reality?

"Down!" he knelt as the tail cleaved right above him. "Leave the thinking to me! You just dodge the damn thing!"

He strained his eyes, trying to follow the blurry attacks of the creature. "If this is a scenario, we need to win it."

"Stopping the murderous beast?" he muttered once more as his body dodged. "How? We need wires, traps…bear traps?"

He took a leap of faith, running up across the wall with the beast on his tail.

"We could give it a pedicure. No claws, no climbing."

"I need something on the moment Inner!" Shinku barked as he jumped, letting gravity plummet him back down…but this time he didn't land on water, but on the marble pavement of the training ground. He coughed as his ribs cracked, the taste of blood filling his mouth.

"Not jumping to our doom would be wise," his other-self remarked between coughs.

"Want to try your hand?"

The next moment, Shinku stabbed forward as the beast's swipe came down. The creature stumbled back, kunai sticking in its guts. "Long overreaching swipes," Shinku gripped with his hands at the jaws of the creature. "Alligator-like facial features means…weak while opening the jaw, lethal if it bites."

"I am not doing this," Shinku mumbled in disbelief as he ended up hoisting himself on the creature's back, his fingers tightly gripping on the creature's mouth.

"I am, you just enjoy the ride," his Inner-self snarled. "We need ninja wire. Why are we without ninja wire?"

"Must be in one of the pockets."

"Why can't we have nice things pop out from our sleeves like every other shinobi worth his salt?"

"We don't have storage seals on our sleeves," Outer-Shinku hissed as he held on, the creature growling as it began to charge towards the nearby wall.

"This is going to hurt," Inner deadpanned. "I hate you so much right now."

Then Shinku's back slammed against the wall, and just like predicted, the feeling of having a spine smashed was something beyond agonizing…it was also surprisingly quick, as his eyes snapped open to yet more retching on the ground. He feebly began to whimper.

"I…I…"

"Three's the charm," Kakashi remarked. Shinku froze, holding still in fright with his eyes closed. "But we'll stop at two," the man added.

Shinku exhaled in relief, his whimpers slowly dying out as he sat down, washing the taste of vomit away with water from his flask.

"Have you learned anything from this?" Kakashi remarked as he hid his sharingan once more.

"I'm regretting asking you to train us," Shinku deadpanned.

"Where's your other self?" Kakashi asked in his usual carefree voice.

"Whimpering in a corner," Inner-Shinku hissed. "He'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"So, let's guess a bit more about you," Kakashi hummed as he took out his animal care book and began to flip through it, "You're everything Shinku would like to be, but isn't?"

"Wrong, try again," Inner deadpanned. "Don't analyse stuff that doesn't exist. We're the same. Only, if you push the blame, the guilt, everything on a single side…then it's easier to cope with stuff."

"So you're the culprit and he's the innocent?"

"No, we're both culprits and we're both innocents," Inner snorted. "We share the blame…just not in equal parts."

"You killed to save your teammates," Kakashi remarked. "Killing for money is nothing more than a part of the shinobi job description, so you did nothing wrong there either."

"Oh no, I'm not blaming myself for that. Maybe Outer is, but I doubt it."

"Uh? Then what are you blaming yourself for?"

Shinku chuckled. "What a question…" he exhaled. "Maybe…"

He blinked then, his eyes turning watery for but an instant. Wiping the nearly formed tears away, Shinku closed his eyes and then took a deep calming breath.

"I'm…fine," he mumbled. "Thanks for…training me."

"Tomorrow, same time?" Kakashi remarked dryly. "Bring a mop and a bucket though. If you keep on retching on the floor we'll need one."

"H-Hai, sensei…"

Kakashi hummed once more as he watched the boy stand on wobbly libs and slowly trudge his way out. He could tell him of the secret exit right above their heads…but walking back through the sewers seemed like an apt exercise to train chakra capacity.

Any little bit did it, when time was so scarce.

Sensei said he could not teach his students anything with life-risking situations…

He had learned most of his stuff during the war after all, and in war there wasn't the comfortable fact that death was just illusory. Each suffering, each pain he so aptly described in his illusions…he felt beforehand more than once. How else could he make them so vivid, after all?

**Author's notes**

**Time skip, no Time Skip. D-Ranks. No D-ranks.**

**Uhm…**

**One more chapter. Then Time Skip to start of exams. Yep.**


	39. Intuition

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Blood wasn't the problem. It dropped thick and viscous from his wounds. Pain dulled out. His breathing evened. Calmly, he gripped on to his kunai and plunged it forward.

Only for Kakashi to stop him, his gloved hand grabbing his wrist.

"No killing Tora," Kakashi remarked. "Trust me, it is not worth the prison time. The Daimyo's wife will just get another."

Tora meowed in fear, the tip of the kunai mere inches away from its face and its big eyes.

Shinku exhaled, giving a hesitant nod. Pursuing a cat like Tora during the day was difficult. Doing the same when the sun was down was nigh impossible. A second went by, before he finally palmed the kunai once more.

"I hate this cat," Shinku remarked.

"I hate D-ranks," Kakashi replied in his carefree voice. "I'll go and deliver this. You wait at the usual place…unless you're tired?"

He was. He sincerely wished to drop dead and sleep until the next year. The exams however were looming, and he wasn't strong enough. What use was there sleeping, if he'd end up sleeping forever?

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Shinku muttered.

Kakashi flickered away, and Shinku began to walk.

He passed by a few drunken men, wailing about their lack of 'Naruto-Tan' and a couple of girls with thick baklava covering their faces and holding…underwear?

He was probably hallucinating from the lack of sleep.

Shinku reached for the manhole slightly hidden in the back alley behind the fish shop in the market. Lowering himself in the manhole, he took a deep breath of the putrid stench of the sewers. The sooner he grew accustomed to the stench, the better.

He passed by a couple of alligators, happily swimming in his hallucination-induced world. He just hoped he wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of the sewer tunnel. He really didn't want to end up swallowing some of the stuff around him…burning his tongue would probably be the least of his worries.

A few minutes of walk rewarded him with the now familiar training area. He fell with a soft sigh on the sofa and closed his eyes. Kakashi would probably wake him up when the time came to train.

Yugao's right eyebrow twitched.

"Where. Is. Shinku?"

Her eyebrow twitched again.

Kakashi remained dutifully ignorant of it all as he flipped another page of his Icha-Icha.

"Uh? You said something?"

"Where is my student?" Yugao ground out. "I swear to god Kakashi, I don't know what sort of crap you told him but I know he's been up all night hunting Tora. I swear if you don't tell me his location…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," problem was, Kakashi wasn't actually hiding it because he enjoyed doing so. If the boy had fallen asleep on a bench somewhere, he would have gladly pointed it out. Being probably asleep in his personal private spot however…meant he couldn't just give it away. It would no longer be 'secret' if everyone else knew about it.

"An Anbu saw you two! You were giggling like a maniac reading porn and Shinku was trying to grab on to that demonic cat! You tell me right now where my student is Hatake, or else!"

Yugao took a step forward. "I swear I will burn down your Icha-Icha collection!"

"Naruko already tore it to shreds," he deadpanned back. "It is ineffective. I bought two more copies."

"You're even forbidden from carrying it around!" Yugao exclaimed, wringing her hands in the air. "How are you still reading it!?"

"The last one who tried is still in the hospital," Kakashi nodded sagely. "Poor Anbu trainee…hazing is such a horrible thing."

"Fine," Yugao hissed. "I'll find out where you hid him and when I do, you better hope he is still in one damn piece!"

Kakashi flipped another page.

His Icha-Icha was suddenly in half, sliced neatly apart by Yugao's katana. "Now that was childish, Uzuki-san," Kakashi said holding on to his two halves of the book.

"I'm going to the Hokage," Yugao ground out. "Try and stop me."

"No need," Kakashi shrugged. "Be my guest…" it wasn't like they could track him down there after all.

A light giggling sound woke Shinku up. He frowned, before turning his head to the side and groaning in pain. A soft surface pushed a lock of his hair away from his face, as the pillow he rested on squirmed for a moment.

"Oh, oh, oh…" the light chuckling, "Trust me, this is guaranteed to work."

That was definitively Naruko's voice.

Had he fallen asleep in the training grounds?

He slowly opened his eyes. "Remember the lines!" Naruko whispered from somewhere nearby.

Amber eyes stared at him. He blinked. Fu's face was crimson. It was definitively steaming. She opened her mouth, trying to stammer out something.

"S-Sl-Sle…"

Shinku closed his eyes and exhaled. He was still hallucinating.

He began softly to snore a moment afterwards, much to Naruko's indignation and Fu's actual relief.

"OHI!" that scream woke him up with a startled yelp, pulling him to the side as he crashed on the floor. Gagging, he stood up to gaze groggily at an apparently enraged Naruko and sheepishly gazing sideways Fu.

"You don't go back to sleep when a pretty girl gives you a lap-pillow!" Naruko yelled. "That's not how the story goes Shin-chan!" why was she holding an Icha-Icha in her other hand?

He had to be sleeping.

He had to be having a strange dream brought forth by his exhaustion.

Or maybe this was Kakashi having started with his Genjutsu already?

"Na-Naru-chan," Fu stammered out. "It's all right!"

"No, no it isn't!" Naruko crossed her arms in front of her, before pointing at Fu. "Now you get your head back on those thighs right now Shin-chan and we do the scene again! This time, you don't move!"

He closed his eyes and exhaled.

This was a dream. He had to wake up.

The next moment, he opened his eyes to the dull ceiling of the training ground. "Oh," he blinked as he looked around. "For once I was right," carefully, he moved to a sitting position on the sofa. "I'm awesome."

There was still no sign of Kakashi. Shinku yawned, stretching slightly. "Well…" he grumbled, "what time is it to begin with?"

There were no clocks, and without the radio on it was impossible to ascertain the time. His stomach growled. It could be breakfast time…he had slept an hour, probably.

Shinku walked out of the training ground scratching the side of his face. He needed a shower. If he was quick enough, maybe he'd manage before training.

He stepped out of the manhole cautiously, making sure to close it behind him. The sun was high as he walked his way home. He reeked of sewer.

He was probably going to be late anyway, so he didn't bother running.

"Ohi, did someone open a manhole around here?" a loud voice echoed on the other side of the street. He ignored it and kept on moving.

"Kiba," a stern female voice remarked. He ignored it all and finally reached for his home. He washed thoroughly in the shower, before stepping out nice and clean.

Yugao Uzuki ground her teeth in frustration.

"Hokage-sama! This can't really go on!" she hissed. "Hatake-san is constantly ignoring his punishments!"

Kakashi smiled from his spot, flipping a page from a glued back together Icha-Icha.

"I am following them most thoroughly," he nodded. "This is not erotic literature," he closed his book. "It's art in its highest form."

Minato banged his head against the desk. "Where's the missing student, Kakashi?"

"Here and there," Kakashi drawled out. "Sensei, I really have no idea where he might be. Maybe he's at the training grounds right now."

Yugao's right hand went up in a fist shaking from rage. "He is not there! It's been two hours since and I'm worried! You probably dropped him in the forest of Death to train, didn't you?"

Kakashi turned thoughtful. "That looks like a smart idea. I already did that though, so it would be redundant."

"Kakashi-kun," Minato murmured. "He isn't dead, right?"

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "He isn't."

"Very well," Minato exhaled. "He accepted to train under you, knowing the risks in full?"

"Yes," Kakashi nodded once more.

"Hokage-sama! This is prep…"

"Then there's little I can do," Minato sighed. "Uzuki-san, if Shinku chose Kakashi, knowing the risks and accepting the consequences of his choices…there is nothing that can be done."

"So I get to keep my cute little soldier?" Kakashi asked with his eye twinkling.

"Kakashi," Minato said then, his voice utterly calm. "Let me be clear. I love you like a son. The only reason you aren't being tried for insubordination isn't simply because of that however. I trust you, implicitly, to know what you are doing. I also trust you to do what is best for Konoha, for its people and for the generations to come. If you break this trust, I swear it, Kakashi…you will not like the consequences. You're the only student I have left. I don't want to end up like the Sandaime, having to trial you as a missing-nin."

Kakashi closed his Icha-Icha and nodded firmly once.

"Of course, Hokage-sama…I know what I'm doing."

"Very well then," Minato said, ignoring the sputtering from Yugao. "If there's nothing else."

"Hokage-sama!"

"Uzuki-san," Minato said firmly. "You have a student to train exclusively for the following month. Kenjutsu is your speciality and I'm sure Sasuke will be thrilled to learn."

"But…"

Kakashi flickered away, as Minato's eyes softened up. "Sometimes, even if we know something might hurt us, we still do it because it's for the sake of everyone else."

Yugao exhaled. "I understand."

Sasuke watched warily the sword in front of him. It was in part respect —it was Itachi's own Anbu Tanto— and in part fear —it _was_ Itachi's Anbu Tanto. "Where is Shinku?"

"The Hokage deemed it best if each of you…had a personal teacher for the upcoming exam," Yugao remarked bitterly, her voice making no effort to hide her distaste.

"Who's teaching Shinku?" Sasuke asked, slowly bending to grab the sword's handle with delicate fingers.

"Hatake-san."

Sasuke's grip on the sword tightened drastically.

"What!? That's…"

"That is Shinku's decision," Yugao replied. "You should ask him why, if you see him again before the start of the exams."

Sasuke ground his teeth.

"Why?" he muttered, "Why would he do that? Kakashi's a bastard and a monster on his good days!"

"People are inherently different, Sasuke," Yugao muttered. "Some thrive best in danger, others in peace and silence. Some are average folks, others hold a spark that will never be tempered."

"He's just going to suffer for a month," Sasuke mumbled. "Kakashi's probably going to drop him in the forest and be done with him."

Yugao closed her eyes and grimaced. She had the same thought.

Kakashi's ears whistled as he eye-smiled, while watching Shinku calmly chew on the Yakiniku's choice meat. The boy's eyes were narrow and gazing at him with that very nice spark of mistrust and wariness that every shinobi worth his salt had.

"You laced the tea?"

"No," Kakashi chuckled. "I admit teaching a single children is better than teaching three. There's also less pressure since you aren't expected to win and become a Chuunin at the first bout…and doing so without receiving accusations of favouritism to boot."

"Uh?"

"Think about it. If Naruko and Sasuke failed the exam poorly, there would be a lot of bad press for Konoha. The Jinchuuriki failing the Chuunin exam, the Uchiha heir considered a prodigy staying a Genin…taking the exam early in Konoha both grants us leeway but also puts pressures on their shoulders."

Shinku raised an eyebrow. "If I fail, nobody is going to complain…right?"

"Oh, but you see…the first two tests are team-based. One fails, all fail," Kakashi smiled. "Can you think what the rest of Konoha would do if their precious Naruko-Tan and Sasuke-Sama failed because of a certain Haruno Shinku?" he inclined his head to the side.

Shinku shuddered.

"Wait, the first two?" Shinku blinked. "So…the last one isn't?"

"The last one has always been a tournament, a match where the ten most prized Genin compete in front of thousands. Winning, losing, it means nothing as long as you put up a good show for the buyers."

"Only a maximum of ten Genin get promoted to Chuunin?" Shinku warily asked.

"Well, no. There are other ways to become a Chuunin. Administrative Chuunin have to take a written test on Konoha's bureaucracy and stay in an internship for a couple of years. Police Chuunin have to pass an aptitude test and result clean of criminal records. Medic-Nin Chuunin need to pass a few exams and intern in the hospital for nearly half a decade…generally, 'Chuunin' is simply meant to define the 'average' Ninja."

"And we have to take the Exam right?" Shinku swallowed nervously. "I really enjoy written tests, you know?"

"Good to know," Kakashi hummed. "Now listen well…in one month, passing the final part of the exam would be impossible…but we are shinobi, not samurai. So…I'll tell you how to cheat."

"What!?" Shinku nearly choked on his saliva.

"Keep your voice down," Kakashi waved his hand. "Really, training you every day until you get to the others' level? Impossible I tell you. I tell you how to pass the first two exams, so you won't have a problem failing the third one."

"And then?" Shinku muttered.

"Then you'll be able to take your nice written test for administrative Chuunin afterwards. Of course that means you'll be barred from leaving Konoha on missions, which would in turn mean they would have to put someone else in your place. I'll fill your spot with Uzuki-san, leave her to deal with the biggest problems and enjoy free-loading once more," Kakashi eye-smiled. "Isn't that a wonderful plan?"

"W-What if I want to…"

"To become stronger? Who? You?" Kakashi snorted, "Can you lift fifty kilos with one hand for one hundred times? Naruko can. She trained since she was five, just like Sasuke. You? You'll never catch up. There is no mystical power that-is which will make you as strong as them in little time. Plainly put, you'll always be in the shadows. I hope you don't have dreams of personal glory kid, because you'll never realize them."

Shinku's fists clenched. "Why are you saying this?" he hissed.

"_Because it's the truth_. I admit if you were a fan boy, I'd be outright uprooting any of that shit out of your body through repetitive beatings but…you're just a kid stuck in a team of ninja. I can give you the mentality of the ninja, I can teach you all the dirty tricks in the book of the ninja but in the end…you are a kid. Aren't you one?"

"I'm not a—"

"Why didn't you train in the academy? You know, the dead last position is such a nice tradition because it helps the prodigies by showing them off in contrast to the weak link." Kakashi chuckled. "You could have learned many more things if you had tried a little bit, but you didn't. You slacked off, right? You went playing with your friends, you enjoyed your 'fires of youth', and you didn't study. You didn't—"

"Shut." His fists trembled. "The." He ground his teeth. "The…hell…up," he hissed. "You don't know me. You don't know what I did or how I did it."

"No, but I can assume, like will everyone else," Kakashi closed his only visible eye. "And assuming something, in our world, is ground for dying a horrible death."

Hatake chuckled. "Do you know how a five year old can survive in the trenches, becoming a Chuunin a six? At five, the enemy shinobi is stronger, smarter, faster and knows many more techniques and tricks than you will ever do. You can be a prodigy in the academy, but a Jounin will still kill you with one swift blow."

"You…misdirect them?"

"Exactly," Kakashi remarked. "You lie. You cheat. You hit low. You grab the dirt and throw it in their eyes. You scream like a scared child and then stab them ruthlessly when they begin to gloat. You fake death. You bleed and throw the blood in their eyes. You lash out with explosive tags primed, uncaring if your fingers are torn off in the blast." He opened and closed his left hand. "They had to reattach my index and middle finger thrice before I made Chuunin."

Shinku felt the bile and the disgust in his stomach rise.

"Do you know you can still fight even when gutted? You know a broken bone can be used as a spear if you need…"

"Enough," Shinku croaked. "Please…enough."

"No," Kakashi smiled. "It is not enough. The human body is a marvellous machine made for survival. It bleeds, it breathes, it suffers but at the same time, it is the reason humans are superior to beasts. We can think…and as long as we can thing calmly and coldly through any situation, then we can do everything."

Kakashi drummed with his fingers on the table. "How would you go about killing me, Shinku? Let's say your objective is to kill me, because otherwise I will kill you," the Jounin eye-smiled. "How would you do that?"

"Poison."

"You were quick to answer," Kakashi chuckled, "Already thought about killing me once uh? You'll find out the most common poisons are out. Smart or paranoid ninja develop an immunity to them or know how to flush them out of their system."

Kakashi clicked his tongue. "But yes, generally poison is an acceptable strategy. It is however common, and easy to see through. Furthermore, poisons are costly and spoil easily —another method?"

"When you're sleeping," Shinku muttered.

"Close. Surprisingly, you will find many shinobi learn never to truly rest unless they're safely hidden beneath a floorboard and concealed by at least five inch thick steel walls with a sure-fire escape route already planned out," Kakashi eye-smiled. "And some simply sleep very little, randomly, and in public places in the middle of the day."

"I should catch you by surprise," Shinku remarked. "Like while talking normally, I should palm a kunai and slice your throat."

"That would be a viable strategy," Kakashi nodded. "My reflexes would however stop you."

Shinku clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"I wouldn't fight you."

"That's not viable," Kakashi stated. "I would hunt you down and kill you, possibly in the most painful way ever devised."

"I'd pay someone strong enough to kill you," Shinku mumbled. "Or I'd pay you double the amount someone else paid you to kill me."

"My reason to kill you is personal, say…abandoning your teammates," Kakashi eye-smiled. "In the end however, it boils down to how much money and protection you can harness to prolong your life, but the true way to kill me, to kill anyone…is to plan it all beforehand. Thinking on the fly is more Naruko's forte. She never thinks, never plans, never looks ahead or _behind_…"

"The previous exams' reports are available to the public eye?" Shinku asked his eyes narrow.

"Of course," Kakashi rolled his eye. "Someone has to warn the world who's a prodigal Chuunin and who isn't one, right?"

Shinku shuddered, exhaling loudly. "I…I don't know if you're genuinely helping me, hindering me, or scaring me senseless."

"That's good then," Kakashi hummed. "I like to remain a mysterious individual to the persons I might end up killing. It increases my fame."

Shinku's voice cracked. "I'm…I'm not going to abandon them, all right?"

"You say this now," Kakashi remarked. "_You will have to prove it._"

Dinner ended on talks on the proper ways to gut someone. Shinku had to admit, if they had told him he'd be discussing gutting over dinner he'd have called them mad before calling the police for help. He didn't even feel green.

"Preconceptions are bad," Shinku muttered. "Assumptions are wrong," he mumbled. "If I abandon my teammates Kakashi will kill me painfully."

He chuckled bitterly. "Nothing like the menace of an early and painful death to get us going, right Shinku?"

"You're right, Shinku," he murmured. "What a mess…"

He walked back home. The house remained empty, as always. The note on the table changed however, this one reciting just a few more lines.

_Preparing for the Chuunin exams? Do your best. We'll definitively come to cheer for you if you reach the finals._

Shinku closed his eyes shut. "That…That man," he growled. "In the end…he didn't tell me anything about the first two tests," grumbling, he slammed his right fist on the table. "So that's how we're going to play it, uh?"

One thing did change.

He no longer saw Fu, Naruko or Sasuke for the entire month. He wasn't lonely —Kakashi was basically spending time with him every day from six in the morning to nine in the afternoon. Still he wondered what the deal was.

It looked less and less about training, more about simply slacking off, and talking. They talked about many things. He scrunched his face, trying to recall a moment in which they had talked again about the first two tests but…Kakashi was good.

He had to admit it, he never managed to get an answer out of the Jounin. He slipped away like some sort of eel and changed the discussion so subtly it was…agonizing. On the positive side, Kakashi paid both for lunch _and_ for dinner.

"So, tomorrow is the big day," Kakashi remarked dryly. "Do you feel ready?"

Shinku snorted. "You're not going to tell me about the first two tests ever, are you?"

"Nope," Kakashi smiled, "You're just not very good at seeing what's in front of your eyes…" Kakashi sighed.

"We spent a month talking about proper ways to kill people. We talked about how to initiate counter-attacks and aiming for weak points, but never once did you let me practice…why?"

"You wouldn't put your heart in it," Kakashi replied with a shrug. "And overusing the Genjutsu-Teaching would have probably scarred you for life."

"Like I ain't scarred to begin with," Shinku snorted.

"Maybe but…you had a nice wind-down month, right? You had no adrenaline pumping chases, no fear of dying…nice and soothing month of talking, even better than dealing with a psychiatric mind-reader. I didn't have to show anything, or take D-ranks."

"You're awfully sure I'm not going to die," Shinku quipped back. "So the exams don't really pose a risk?"

"Uhm…maybe, but then again I told you once already: you're all set."

Shinku half-closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "So it means you already trained me for it. It means it has to be something I'm already good at, or at least passable. You wouldn't let an under-trained Genin in a team with Naruko or Sasuke…you made it abundantly clear. So the reason you haven't trained me physically is because I should be able to intrinsically follow through at least until the third test."

"Yes, so?" Kakashi hummed as he broke his chopstick apart before picking on the meat.

"We've been eating nothing but meat for this entire month," Shinku dryly mumbled. "I can't help but feel there's a connection somewhere."

"Making you juicer for the tigers," Kakashi shrugged.

"Tigers?" Shinku's eyes blearily gazed at Kakashi. "You just dropped that hint out, didn't you?"

"Uh? You said something?"

How Kakashi managed to eat without revealing his face…

"So Tigers…Tora? I doubt a Chuunin would have to deal with a cat…by the way, you can't access the reports on the past Chuunin-exams unless you're a Chuunin, and the tasks before always change."

"That's basic info," Kakashi shrugged.

"Tigers…tigers…" Shinku's eyes trailed down to the meat on his table, and then to his right hand. "Tigers…the Forest of Death?"

Kakashi hummed away.

"One task is in the forest of Death. You already threw us in there, meaning you did it on purpose knowing fully well the Chuunin exam to come," Shinku's eyes narrowed on him. "And all that talk about killing…all that stuff about wanting to teach me assassination…it's because there's to kill in there, right?"

Kakashi slowly lowered his chopsticks on the surface of the table. Quietly, he brought both hands up and, in front of Shinku's bewildered gaze, clapped once.

"Good," Kakashi's lone eye narrowed. "You understand why?"

"Only ten reach the finals," Shinku mumbled. "So the numbers have to be reduced."

"Good, and…for the other task?"

"It's the first one then," Shinku mumbled. "The second is the forest but the first…I don't know, we just talked for the entire month…but," he looked upwards. "It's held at the academy. Our meeting spot for the Chuunin exam is held at the academy so…" he blearily looked at Kakashi, "It's an exam. Right?" Scathingly, Shinku's murderous glare could have killed anyone. "It's a fucking, frigging _exam_?"

"Congratulations," Kakashi replied with a thumb-up. "You just realized what the tasks are. Just the day before, meaning you won't have the time to become a nervous wreck over the course of agonizingly long weeks because you're now one-hundred percent fucked up on the first exam!"

"Which would be nice," Shinku's eyes glinted, "If it weren't for the fact that the first two exams are team-failures, so…studying is meaningless, right?"

Kakashi's eye mischievously glinted back, "Oh? Really?"

"So…it's an exam where studying isn't needed," Shinku mumbled. "It can't be physical, because you would have trained me for it but then…it concerns the mind in some way," Shinku grumbled. "Something Shinobi-like to boot so…the test isn't what it appears to be, hence one doesn't have to actually do it to pass."

"You know," Kakashi tapped his fingers on the table. "There are many ways a mission can go. You can plan it before going, acquiring all the needed information and then executing it. You can think of something on the fly, or you can simply get to it through brute force alone…" Kakashi looked at the surface of the table with interest. "The ability to think isn't something you should disregard in favour of some sort of higher power or greater technique. It's thinking that got me through the war, not techniques. I couldn't do my trademarked technique of the Raikiri until I received the sharingan…"

Shinku awkwardly looked down too, before closing his eyes. "Why don't you show this side to Naruko, or Sasuke? You're actually a very good sensei, when you get down to it…I understand the reasoning behind your words, and…"

"Ah, they wouldn't get it," Kakashi chuckled. "I told you there was a reason I took a particular interest in you, didn't I? It's very simple, really. Maybe I'm mad and tomorrow I'll be back to torturing you with hellish techniques but…the world isn't a happy place, but it is neither a shitty place. It's just…a place. Some people suffer, other people laugh. Many people cry and many more play and fool around. Thousands go about their daily lives and millions breathe and live through the day without worries…" Kakashi hummed. "The world isn't made of liars. It's not made of psychopaths or abusers. It's simply…_made_."

"You graduated at five," Shinku mumbled. "Your teammates were meant to be…seven years older?"

"No, war graduation is bumped down to students nine years old," Kakashi said. "I graduated four years early than my classmates, in a single year."

"The Academy begins at six now," Shinku remarked. "But…that means you were in a team of older students."

Shinku's head inclined to the side. A thought struck him. "You were abandoned on the battlefield."

Kakashi's lone eye narrowed into a thin slit. "Are you guessing now?"

"You were abandoned, and so you abandoned in turn," Shinku muttered, "Until you were proven wrong by your dead teammate. That's from where everything else stems, right? That's why you don't want anyone else to make your same mistake. Isn't that right?"

"Ah…well, my father chose a shitty moment to commit suicide," Kakashi chuckled, his eye returning soft. "When you're the son of the principal cause for the war you're fighting in, it's no wonder your teacher who just lost her son might aptly forget you in a trench and divert the reinforcements elsewhere. That's a pretty good intuition you have there, Shinku."

"Everyone has issues," he mumbled. "Exploit them," he looked at Kakashi. "You taught me that."

"Uh? I did?"

"Yes," Shinku's eyes softly gazed at the man in front of him, and then he smiled. "Thanks for everything, Kakashi-sensei."

"Ohi," Kakashi's only eye narrowed half-bored. "You're awfully talkative tonight."

"You prefer Kakashi-Taichou?" Shinku hissed out.

"Uhm…not bad," Kakashi acquiesced. "I was in Anbu for quite a while, you know. It sure feels nostalgic."

"The others will probably have reached new levels by now," Shinku sighed. "Then again, it never was a matter of being on their same pedestal, right?"

Kakashi chuckled. "If it can make you feel better, know that not even Jiraiya-sama can stop Naruko when she reaches the Four-Tailed state…and that's a sannin we're talking of."

Shinku swallowed.

"But they're your beautiful teammates so…" Kakashi calmly began to let a shuriken spin on the tip of his index finger. "Don't let them come to harm anyway, understood?"

"H-Hai, Taichou."

"By the way, you know you can't bring your flak jacket to the exams right?"

Shinku's startled cry of 'What' echoed through the restaurant.

Kakashi just chuckled more.

It was so easy to rile the boy up. He didn't get that much fun out of Naruko or Sasuke at all…

**Author's notes**

**Next Chapter, Chuunin exam. Hurray. (Un?)fortunately, the most cliché and done and redone stuff in the history of Naruto fanfiction. **

**If (Maybe) the muse wills it, I'll try and pull up some interesting stuff from somewhere rather than concentrate on the usual 'HA! ME GENIN HOKAGE!' usual answer.**

**Hopefully.**


	40. Going Through Habitual Motions Is Easy

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty

It was a bright sunny day, as Shinku walked out towards the Academy. His parents had already gone, leaving behind a 'Good Luck' notice on the table. Well, some things would never change. Walking across the street, his hands in his jacket and his eyes stuck to the road, he shuddered.

He was going to enter the Chuunin exams. The first two tests were easy. The last one was impossible. He had to remember that. He stopped at the entrance to the academy's courtyard. Barely outside was one of his teammates already waiting, his back against the wall.

"Shinku," Sasuke acknowledged him with a nod. He wore the usual blue shirt and white cargo pants, but strapped on his back was a sword nearly the same size as him.

"Sasuke," he returned the nod. He wasn't very…different.

Shinku's fingers had band-aids all over, and the jacket he wore held a strangely firm neck and form —as if someone had spent the entire night stuffing it with the same chainmail normally inserted inside a Jounin's flak jacket.

"Nice jacket," Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. "Slept well last night?"

"Don't tell me," Shinku's right eyebrow twitched back in reply. "The bastard could have told me about it earlier," he yawned. "I probably forgot a layer somewhere and with my luck, the enemy will target it."

"I hope not," Sasuke's eyes now gazed at him with a worried look, "Kakashi didn't torture you, right?"

"He didn't," he barely said, when a blur of orange tackled Sasuke's throat as another arm snaked up to tackle his own. He was glad for the neck protector —he knew detaching and reattaching it to his jacket would pay off.

"Uke-chan! Shin-chan! It's been so long!" Naruko cried of joy. She wasn't any different from the last month, still wearing her usual orange jumpsuit and with her hair tied in pony-tails going towards the back.

Shinku coughed, before making an awkward smile at Fu, who flew down next. The girl returned the smile bashfully.

"Hi," she said, waving.

"Hey," Shinku replied.

"Oh, oh, oh," the lecherous gaze of Naruko interrupted a few seconds later, breaking the mood —if one had even formed to begin with.

"How was your training?" Fu asked, excited. "We did a lot of cool stuff this month! Like flying, fighting, throwing paintballs…"

"I was taught how to use swords of various lengths," Sasuke remarked. "Uzuki-sensei is particularly proficient in the usage of a Katana."

"I had to convince fuzzy butts to be less of a dick," Naruko pouted. "But then my mom taught me a few seals, so it's all for the better!"

Shinku smiled awkwardly when everyone gazed at him. "Kakashi…we sparred."

Before any of them could say anything more, Kakashi chuckled as he appeared in a flicker of leaves.

"Kakashi-Nii!" Naruko exclaimed, "You better have been good to Shin-chan, he's our team mascot!"

Kakashi hummed, flipping through the pages of an Icha-Icha.

"It seems my team is as ready as it will ever be," he inclined his head to the side, completely ignoring Naruko's words.

"Not thanks to you Kakashi-Nii," Naruko retorted bitterly. "Haven't seen you for a month! If that's your way of teaching Shin-chan we'll have to carry him all the way to the end."

"Well, that's what teammates are for," Kakashi smiled brightly. "Keep each other safe during the exams," he frowned. "Well, I know I have been a bad teacher but…I want to tell you that I'm proud of all of you," his voice grew serious, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You all did well as my Genin, and I have hopes you will all do even better as my Chuunin."

"We're moving into Yugao's team the moment we are all promoted," Sasuke retorted dryly. "There's no way in hell anyone would want to remain in your team, you psychopath!"

Kakashi swiped away a fake tear. "Oh well…I'll be back to being a freeloader then," shrugging, the silver-haired Jounin clapped his hands together.

"I have a special gift to deliver to each of you, now that you made me think about it!" with that said, Kakashi proceeded to hand over to Naruko, Sasuke and Shinku…

An Icha-Icha.

_Icha-Icha Pornfest Explosion Maximum Fiesta!_

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "_Really?_ After one month without your annoying presence, this is what you deliver?"

Shinku calmly hid his in his flak jacket. It was a very despicable gift, but if they had to be in the forest of Death...toilet paper. One should never go in the forest without toilet paper.

There was a moment of hesitation before Kakashi delivered a fourth book to Fu. "Well, I thought it would suck to be left out," he added at the perplexed gaze from his other three students. "Plus, she can learn a lot of new and exciting stuff while you three go and take the exam! Just be careful of some teams…have a look around, try to spot familiar faces…"

Fu carefully opened the first page. She turned a bright, blushing crimson colour and then eeped, closing the book. She did clutch it to her chest, taking small breaths to calm down.

"Ah," Shinku wearily gazed around. There were a few groups waiting outside, from Suna, Ame, Kusa…a couple were from Kiri, but the chill he felt…

It was from the sword-wielding Kirigakure swordsman of the mist. The one he knew very well.

Their gazes met for just an instant, and quickly Shinku averted his own. Stiffly, he swallowed the lump of nervousness that now settled in his throat.

"Hatake-san," Yugao's voice reached his ears, as the female ex-Anbu appeared next without the usual shower of leaves. Wait, did that mean Kakashi arrived early? "You're already here?"

"I'm saying goodbye to my startling young team," Kakashi sniffled. "They'll become great Chuunin, I'm sure. Well, two out of three at least…I'm not so sure about the dark haired one."

Shinku sighed, dropping his shoulders. "Ohi, Uke-chan's going to do his best!" Naruko shot back angrily.

"He's referring to me," Shinku remarked.

"I know that," Naruko clicked her tongue, "But I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of saying it aloud."

Yugao softly gazed at all three of her students, before giving a quick nod. "Now remember that whatever happens, I'll be proud of all of you," she hesitated for a moment. "I'm sure you all trained hard for this moment, so I will not say 'good luck'. You don't need luck. You prepared for this moment. Go inside, and come back Chuunin. Not everyone passes the exams on their first try, so do not feel dejected if you fail…it is normal."

There was a flash of light, and Naruko sputtered.

"My baby is participating in the Chuunin exams!" Kushina tackled Naruko —so that was where the girl had acquired her 'flying tackle hug' to begin with— and then hugged her firmly. Naruko gagged for air as her red-haired mother held the grip for a few moments more.

"Ohi! You said you wouldn't come! Mooom!" Naruko whined, "You're embarrassing me!"

"Kushina, let her go or she won't be able to breathe," the Yondaime said next. "I trust everyone feels ready for the exam?" Minato Namikaze asked, his cerulean eyes settling on each of the three Genin one by one. "If any of you do not wish to participate, you know it is not an obligation. I'm sure waiting a few years would not be a problem…"

Sasuke stilled. Naruko bit her tongue. Shinku froze and then turned his murderous gaze on to Kakashi. The man had made it seem as if the Hokage wanted them to participate! The…The…the bastard!

Shinku's shoulders shook slightly, but he remained quiet. He blinked when he realized _everyone_ was looking at him. Where they really expecting him to say no? He could just imagine the crowds of people screaming 'Naruko-tan' and 'Sasuke-sama' below his window and out for his blood.

"Is everyone sure?" Minato asked one last time, as the awkward silence stretched on.

Shinku nodded, making a small smile. "I'm…yes?"

Naruko sighed, shaking her head. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "We'd better go or we'll be late."

"Ah," Fu said suddenly, clasping with her right hand Shinku's own —her left still held the Icha-Icha book. "Good luck!"

"T-Thanks," Shinku stammered out, his face heating up.

Kakashi hummed as he watched the three Genin walk away —Naruko patting Shinku's back quite strongly with a lecherous gaze that was all too similar to Jiraiya's own.

"Kakashi?" the Yondaime said his voice low. "What did you teach the boy?"

"Absolutely nothing," Kakashi replied in his carefree voice. "He's probably going to die."

"Kakashi…" Minato sighed, shaking his head while exhaling. "Where did I go wrong with you?"

Zabuza watched the trio of Konoha Genin entering the exams, and then narrowed his eyes. "You see the boy with the jacket? If you don't want to spend the rest of the following month training with me…" the man growled, "When you get a chance, make sure he fails."

The three Kirigakure Genin —he hadn't even cared to remember their names— nodded stiffly before breaking off in a quick run towards the academy…as far as possible from him. Zabuza chuckled; watching the little Genin go while scared senseless was fun.

He hoped the team with the Yondaime's daughter would kill them. He needed better Genin than those three, but he couldn't actually 'kill' them…not without looking bad for the future applicants. He gave a gruff nod in Shinku's direction. He chuckled when the boy's sharp eyes went from him to his Genin.

He should have become a Jounin-sensei sooner.

"Third floor," Sasuke grumbled. They all climbed, ignoring the mass of people stuck at the second floor for some strange reason. Well, Shinku had been about to stop at that floor —there was the third floor plaque just outside— but Sasuke had rolled his eyes and kept on climbing without a word.

Naruko had snorted. He…well, he had followed his teammates. The correct classroom in which they entered had another door, but already packed a variety of shinobi. Dark eyes stared at them with a promise of murder, and Shinku shuddered feeling incredibly cold. Why couldn't he take the written test like all other administrative Chuunin?

"Sasuke-kuuuuunnnnn!"

A wail-like scream tore the air as Ino jumped from her group to Sasuke's side. Gripping tightly her hands in a sort of prayer, she earnestly said. "Are you all right? It's been so long! Have you…"

Shinku hesitantly took a step backwards as the rest of team ten walked forward.

"Ohi, Ino-pig, get the hell away from Uke-chan," Naruko shot right back, walking in front of Sasuke. "You're annoying."

"And you're ugly, fox-bitch," Ino retorted with a snort. "When will you stop standing between me and my true love?"

Quietly, Shinku ended up way back from the rest of his team as more and more Genin —mainly from Konoha— pulled to get through and watch the scene unfold. His back safely against the nearby wall, he sighed in relief.

"You are not an Aburame."

Shinku blinked. Next to him was a cloak-wearing Genin with thin sunglasses. "N-No?"

"Why do I say that? I cannot feel Kikkaichu buzzing from within you. I have never seen you before in the clan compounds."

"I see?" Shinku hesitated.

"So why do you have an insect with chakra capacity inside your right hand?" the boy inclined his head to the side.

"Ah…well," he looked at his right hand. "A friend gave it to me?"

"Understandable," Shino nodded. "You are friends with Fu-san, are you?"

"Oh, right," Shinku blinked. "She talked with members of the Aburame clan."

"I know. Why do I know? I was there. I recognized the pheromones emitted by the bug, which is why I came close to ask. You are…" the boy frowned for a moment. "I do not recall your name."

"Shinku," he replied. "We were in the same class. I was…behind you."

"Oh," Shino probably blinked behind his sunglasses. "It is shameful for me to forget the name of a classmate. I apologize. I hope you are not offended?"

"No, no…I'm not," Shinku shook his head lightly. "I'm…trying to avoid notice," he muttered gazing at the crowd that was starting to yell louder and louder.

"I understand. I too was avoiding notice. Loud noises unsettle the Kikkaichu."

The two boys settled in a moment of serene silence.

It lasted until Naruko screamed louder than the rest of the group. "_SHIN-CHAN!? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?_"

Shinku exhaled, quietly starting to take a step forward when the doors opened up with a bang. "_**BE QUIET!**_" a tall, broad and outright scary man roared. "If I hear someone screaming again I'll have your throat served with green tea for dinner!"

The door slammed close a moment afterwards.

Everyone dispersed, awkwardly moving to the sides of the room.

"This is your entire fault!" Ino hissed. Naruko ignored her and checked on Shinku first, gazing worriedly as if she were some sort of overbearing grandmother worried for the grandchildren.

"Don't you get out of my sight again," Naruko said firmly, making Shinku shudder from the strength of the tone. "Really, there's a bunch of backstabbing bastards around here, so stick with the team understood?"

Sasuke sighed. "Come off it, idiot," the Uchiha rolled his eyes. "I doubt they'd murder him in the middle of the day with all these eyewitnesses."

Naruko was about to retort, when her eyes narrowed and she literally growled, pulling Shinku right behind her. "What'cha looking at, freak-eyes!?"

Shinku thankfully collided with Sasuke, who's firm grip held him up. The moment his eyes finally found the reason for yet another fight of Naruko, he stared perplexedly at the quivering form of a Hyuga girl trembling like a leaf.

"N-Naruko…san…"

"I asked you a question," Naruko growled, "_**What. Are. You. Looking. At.**_ Are you stupid or something, Hyuga?"

There was silence. Deep, unsettling silence stretched through the entire room as if a wave of cold water had crashed down on everyone's shoulders. This wasn't Naruko being incensed at Ino for annoying Sasuke. This wasn't even being angry about not telling her of the bridge mission. This was Naruko being truly, without a doubt, filled with _hatred_ for someone else.

The Hyuga girl _trembled_ on the verge of collapsing, her breathing sharp and ragged as she squeaked out in fear and fright.

"Ohi! Stop that!" another boy walked forward, holding a white puppy on his head and standing straight in front of the Hyuga girl —as if to protect her.

"Inuzuka," Sasuke remarked dryly, walking to stand next to Naruko. "They nominated your pathetic dog-breath ass in the exams?"

"Hey Bitchie, still sore about that kick in the balls?" the Inuzuka remarked.

"Mutt-face, you wanna start something?" Naruko slurred out in a yakuza-like slang. "I'm sure we can have you clean some dog shit from the park or something…no, wait…you dogs eat the shit to begin with, right?"

Shinku really wanted to know what was going on, but he refrained and stood in his corner. Shino apparently was doing the very same thing. How nice…they were doing the same thing, hoping their teammates wouldn't notice their absence. It didn't take much however for Naruko to zero in with her eyes on him. Was she really keeping an eye out wherever he went each second?

What was he, a child in a supermarket that had to be on a tight leash?

A few minutes later, and a bulk of people entered the already packed class. This time a few familiar faces made their way inside —Maito Gai's team for one— and following behind them was Hibachi. Only, his team had an older Konoha Genin rather than a kunoichi.

Ami appeared to be missing.

"She dropped out," Ino's voice came in a low whisper. "You know, what you did, it scared her so much she dropped out."

The hair at the back of his neck rose. "You're a bit of psycho, right? Acting all meek and gentle but…you're wearing a mask, the same thing Naruko-chan hates a lot to see in others. You're probably a liar…I wonder if I told her, what would she do?"

He turned around, ready to answer back, but it was too late as the doors once more barged open from the side with the examiners.

"Come on in! Sit down at the numbered spot! They should all coincide with your shinobi Id!"

The man in question was wearing a large bandana, covering the upper side of his head. He wore a dark jacket dyed black, and his face held many scars. His entire appearance made him terrifying to behold.

Right. The first test was a written exam. So why did it look more like an execution?

He could do this.

"You have all been assigned a number! Look for it and sit down there!"

It didn't require studying, so…

"Now listen up! You have ten questions, one paper, and each cheating attempt will take two points out of ten. I'll tell you lot the tenth question when only fifteen minutes remains…so get to it! Any question you don't answer will remove a point!"

As luck would have it, Shinku was in the first row.

He stared blearily at the face of the bandana-wearing instructor who was standing a mere air breath away from his desk, and then lowered his gaze to the paper.

_The Psychological Metaphysical evidence of a Yin exchange release ties into which sects of cult that plagued the Elemental Countries during the warring states period, enunciate in at least twenty-five lines, taking care of writing the names of each of them._

Shinku blinked.

Wait. They didn't have any written records of the warring states period.

That was an easy question! It was a _trick_ question… it meant that the solution to the problem was to find an answer that worked, rather than actually trying to answer such a thing.

Shinku flexed his fingers, before realizing a very important fact.

He was without a pencil.

His head went thunk against the desk. He couldn't do that. He couldn't ask that. He couldn't, absolutely, without any doubt, do that. He had to answer however. He needed a pen. He needed a crayon, or some blood and a brush, something to write at least!

His kunai were in his pouch however, and if he took them out…at the same time, if he didn't cut his finger he had no hope of writing anything. He had to wonder where his pen had gone too. Weren't they supposed to hand one over?

The Kirigakure shinobi next to him smiled. It had been as easy as stealing candies from a baby.

If he couldn't complete the assignment, then he wouldn't be able to participate any further. Zabuza-sensei would be pleased, and he'd probably become the next swordsman of the mist if he played his cards right.

Sasuke's eyes went through the entire set of questions with relative ease. When one had the sharingan's ability to memorize everything, even movements, it was easy to copy from the few people who knew the answer.

Naruko happily smirked from her spot, having already the solution to her problems.

She had infiltrated the library and right in that instant, there were at least fifty different Naruko clones looking around for answers. She had just made one appear without smoke beneath her desk, before dispersing it. Now that her 'plants' knew the questions…she'd have the answers soon enough.

A kunai struck near the desk of Sasuke, as a team from Kusa left the hall.

"You're out!" soon another followed, and then a third.

Shinku trembled, looking at the glaring white paper…well, he had bandages covering his fingers. He had cut himself enough the night before, so…wait.

His index finger traced the line of the Icha-Icha book. Paper cuts were among the most painful things ever experienced in his life —barring his 'training' in the Forest of Death…barring having his bones broken…barring…well, no. Paper cuts were actually abysmal when compared to what he had gone through.

He ground his teeth and sliced away.

Only for nothing to happen.

Frowning, he carefully pushed the finger through the folds of the book. The papers weren't firm and stiff like those of a hard-printed copy, but more…soft, moving. They were actually pretty much…

He carefully pinched one and pulled it out. Slowly, ever so, he unfolded it beneath his jacket. He could swear everyone in the room was looking at him, but it wasn't cheating what he was doing, so they couldn't take points.

A second, a glance…and then Shinku exhaled.

It was an explosive tag.

He calmly placed the tag back into the folds of the book and blinked.

It was an explosive tag.

Kakashi had given them explosive tags, hidden inside porn books.

He didn't know whether the man was a genius for hiding explosive in porn or a madman…for hiding explosive in porn!

There was only one thing he could do.

His finger fiddled with the back of his pouch, and then he clicked his tongue against his teeth the moment he sliced away his index's fingertip.

He brought out the bleeding finger then, answering the first question with a simple Kanji that stood for 'None'.

Using the band-aids from the nearby finger, he closed the wound off and sighed in relief.

There, it was…

Ibiki Morino's hand slammed down on his desk with enough strength that Shinku yelped. His eyes were wide as he stared at the man.

"Next time, ask for a spare," the man grumbled, dropping a pen on the surface of his desk.

"T-Th-Thhh-Thanks!"

He quickly gripped onto it with enough strength that it nearly shattered. He began to answer the following questions blindly, his pen stilling only when he was done at the very end.

Sighing in relief, he turned his sheet over and then closed his eyes, massaging his temples.

More 'thunk' sounds followed as the teams dropped like flies for cheating. He actually wondered if the purpose of the exam wasn't to cheat, but then again…all answers were impossible to begin with. Things like 'If a bird flies from the east at Mach two speed, then determine its kinetic mass upon impact with the head of an enemy shinobi going at Mach one speed' were false and tricky questions.

There was no way anyone would fall for those, once you knew that birds simply couldn't reach Mach two of speed.

"Very well!" Ibiki yelled suddenly, "Now is the time for the last question."

"If you choose to take it, and answer wrongly however…" Ibiki stated, "I'll kill you."

Shinku blinked. Wait. What?

"What?" a few voices rose from the end rows.

"If you choose to answer this question, and get it wrong, you will die." Ibiki smiled, calmly gripping a kunai from his belt and twirling it lazily around. "It's that simple. You answer wrongly, and you die. Painfully," the other examiners began to unsheathe their weapons, "and without any help. There are explosive tags primed beneath your seats. You won't get away alive…if you answer wrongly."

Shinku's heart drummed in his chest.

That was preposterous! There was no way…it didn't even matter.

He wasn't actually afraid. This…this was _meaningless_. He could see Genin stiffen up, he could see a few take the easy way out and raise their hands to admit defeat. Yet he wasn't scared at all. It felt…strange. He was used to this. He was used to this sort of situation and it didn't even compare. This…this was nothing, outright nothing.

Except for the ludicrous obvious fact that he wouldn't simply kill people —Konoha wasn't as bloody as Kiri to begin with— there was no other meaning to this than to weed out the few remaining ones.

"What was the purpose of doing the first nine questions then!? What was the point system all about, if it wasn't to cheat?" a female voice —coming from a kunoichi with a Suna headgear— asked hotly.

"They were meant to check your ability in acquiring information," Ibiki replied gruffly. "But this is the real deal! You must wager your life on whether this last question is something that you can acquire or not! You will not receive retries if you choose wrongly in the battlefield! Information is key, it is vital! The right information can save the lives of many, and the wrong one can condemn many more!"

The man pierced the desk in front of him —why did it always have to be Shinku's— and bellowed once more. "So! Choose! Are you all going to remain here!?"

"Ohi, bandana-freak!" Naruko yelled back. "You done!? I want to become a Chuunin before tomorrow, you know!?"

Ibiki growled, before giving a curt nod.

"Very well," he said. "All those that remain in here…pass."

Shinku sighed at those words. A moment later, and his entire body dropped beneath the desk as the windows crashed and broke apart. He heard more 'thunks' sounds, soon followed by a mad female cackling.

"Ibiki!" Anko yelled. "What the hell is this!? There's too many of these fuckers!"

The woman snorted, "Well, I'll cut their numbers in half anyway."

Shinku waited anxiously as the woman appeared to be moving —he couldn't see her, hidden as he was beneath the desk, but he could clearly hear her.

"Uhm…where's my little squirming toy?"

"Ohi," he heard a thunk as someone landed atop his desk. "Ye picking up trouble?"

"If it isn't the Yondaime's brat," Anko snickered. "Well, I'm sure it will bring back memories."

"What the hell are you talking about, uh?" Naruko remarked.

"All of you! The second test…will be in the Forest of Death! The nicest place in all of Konoha, for good old little Genin who need to man the hell up!" cackling, Mitarashi Anko gently gripped Naruko's chin. "I can't wait to see your squirming teammate cry, brat."

"Shin-chan's not going to cry, you old hag! We all trained hard!"

Carefully, Shinku emerged from behind his desk.

"Yeah?" Anko snickered. "Well! We'll see…forest of Death! Don't be late you fuckers!"

With that exclamation, the woman jumped out of the broken window.

"I'm…alive?" Shinku whispered.

"Really, Shin-chan," Naruko pouted, turning to gaze at him. "You can't be scared of your own shadow like that!"

"Ah…all right?"

Sasuke snorted, having in the meantime arrived near. "Really, what was the purpose of cheating? An idiot could have simply answered wrongly and gone on with guts alone."

Shinku chuckled nervously; he was glad he had turned over his sheet. Answering 'Impossible' or 'None' to all the questions…well, that wasn't lucky at all.

They walked their way outside in a group, taking to the rooftops to follow behind the purple haired Tokubetsu Jounin. Shinku exhaled as he jumped from roof to roof. A small, meagre part of him…laughed. It felt so nice, to have the wind in his hair and be without worries for once.

The forest of Death wouldn't be that difficult…if anything, they were already trained for it.

What, really, could go wrong?

_**Have we dropped the melted chocolate?**_

_GAH!_

He stumbled on his next step, but quickly regained his balance. One more jump, and he hastily checked through his pockets. Yes, everything was fine. He had left it out on his desk the night before.

The Tokubetsu Jounin delivered the 'objective' with ease and holding on to her cackling madness. Sasuke grumbled as he grabbed the team's scroll, before they made their way to the assigned gate.

The smell of resin, of tree sap, rested heavily in Shinku's nostrils. The noises of the jungle were lullabies to his ears. The shade that encompassed all but the highest of branches was to him…well, he felt at home.

Differently from the first time, they took to the trees with a speed and a grace he didn't think he'd ever possess. He wasn't weak any longer. He could follow behind now. Maybe he was just being pessimistic. He could reach them, one day. It was as his mind lost itself in such thoughts that a half-human and half-snake man with pale skin and raven hair soared through the air, before slamming an open hand straight in Naruko's guts.

They were barely into the forest, but already Shinku watched as Naruko —tackled in mid-air— went sailing past him and crashed against the trunk of a tree.

"Naruko!" Sasuke yelled, before the snake-tail flipped and slammed into the Uchiha's midsection. The Susanoo rose in a split-second, absorbing the blow as it sent Sasuke to crash through a couple of trees.

Shinku jumped backwards, his heart beating faster than it had ever beaten before. Zabuza was a kitten. The Forest of Death was a happy holiday. The swordsmen of the mist were cute and nice people. Corpses were wonderful things to hug.

Anything was better than remaining in front of Orochimaru of the Sannin, _especially_ when he was out for blood.

Shinku didn't stop running. His voice grew coarse from screaming in fear as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch, as far away from the battlefield as possible.

His head pulsed; his breathing grew laboured. He dropped against the trunk of another tree and gagged, before retching and shuddering among whimpers. There was no way. _There was no way_. _**There was no way in hell. **_

"Ah…ah…" Shinku breathed slowly. He couldn't go back and die. Really, he was…

"Kakashi will kill us," Shinku muttered. A grimace settled on his face. "If we don't go back, Kakashi will kill us."

Trembling, Shinku looked up to the tree branches. "Kakashi will kill us. Orochimaru will kill us."

"If we die by Orochimaru's hands, you think they'll give us a statue?"

"I think we'll be too dead to care."

Silence settled in his mind. If he didn't go, he would die. If he went, he would die.

"Let's…just go," he muttered.

His stomach hurt as he landed on a branch overlooking the crashed tree where Naruko flew. He was already low on chakra. It was wonderful. It was a very wonderful feeling that he felt when he landed close to the crater-point, his eyes adjusting to the shade beneath the thick branches.

His skin crawled. He scratched his arms as he cut his way through some leafier branches and all the way inside. A small glint of golden caught his attention. Naruko was there, still and unmoving.

It was such a wrong thought that he immediately removed it from his mind. The girl was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, really…it had to count for something! She had probably trained extra-hard with the Yondaime, acquiring all sorts of techniques. She couldn't be _dead_.

He wondered if Kakashi would still kill him, if he told him Orochimaru had killed Naruko with only one attack. Shinku knelt down next to the girl, bringing a hand to her neck. He could feel his own heart beating, but…how did it work anyway?

Another technique from first-aid was to bring a kunai to the mouth of the victim. If it turned slightly foggy, it meant the 'victim' was still breathing.

He did that, clasping on to the handle of one of his kunai firmly and watching anxiously. A light sheen of fog appeared over the metal.

It was all right.

She was still alive.

Then why wasn't she waking up? Had the blow been that hard?

He gripped her from the sides, letting her left arm circle around his neck as he pulled her up. He began to walk towards the exit of the thick branches, but stilled halfway through.

"You think someone's fighting up ahead?" it was a rough voice, coming from a man covered in scars and with thick bandages in place of his forehead protector. "I can hear the noises."

"Shigure-san, should we wait and pick off the weak ones?"

Shinku did not breathe. He did not swallow. He was holding on to Naruko, barely hidden by the branches as in front of him stood three shinobi who had the task of getting their scroll. Scroll which…he didn't have, nor did Naruko.

Sasuke was the one with the scroll.

One of the Genin turned then towards his direction, and Shinku froze.

"Look at that damage. You really want to go up against a Genin who can do that?" the older boy known as 'Shigure' remarked. "Let's find a place to rest for the night. Check those branches. Luck is really on our side this time around."

_**You know if I had known being without the chocolate would land us in these hot waters…**_

_Wait, you mean our luck is shitty outright!? How the hell did we survive this long!?_

_**Calm down. Breathe. Think.**_

_There's three of them and one of us! What is there to think!?_

Shinku took a step backwards as the smallest of the three Amegakure Genin stepped inside. Holding his breath, Shinku tightened the grip on his kunai.

His reflection in the metal narrowed its eyes.

"You know what you have to do," it whispered to his ear. "Do. It."

Shinku ground his teeth to paste as he charged, letting Naruko's body drop as he overextended his left arm. The Genin turned, his eyes widening for a split second at the sight of a dark figure in mid-air coming down on him with glinting steel.

It was a moment, and then the Kunai struck flesh and the Amegakure Genin gurgled while his entire body flew, the strength of the impact carrying him through the branches as whatever creature had gripped on him kept on pushing him further away. His back slammed against the firm and tough trunk as his breathing came less. His spine cracked, blood filled his lungs.

His eyes met with those of his murderer, and the unspoken question of '_why'_ remained unanswered as Shinku ran away from the dying Genin.

"Midare!" Shigure yelled, "Ohi Midare!" he unclasped his umbrella filled with poisonous needles. "You still alive in there?"

"Yeah!" the voice came a moment later. "Just…giant leech scared the hell out of me in a branch. I need a hand, Shigure-san! This thing's really big!"

"Really," Shigure grumbled. "This is why being in a team of newcomers…Baiu, go and give him a hand," Shigure said, giving a nod towards the other Genin who went off without a worry. How big could a leech be in any case?

Shigure turned around, his ears stretching to peek up the sounds of Baiu's walk. It soon turned into a run, probably he had found…

There was a light fizzling.

Shigure opened his eyes to a kunai with an explosive tag stopping right at the bottom of his feet, before going off.

The explosion's strength took away his ankles, making him scream in pain as he fell down clutching at the grass. "Baiu! Baiu!" the screams were met with the hurried return of the Genin in question.

"Shigure-san, the—"

Then, the creature jumped from the nearby trunk down on his last victim. The wire twisted and glinted red in blood as Shinku firmly held on to both sides of his Kunai's handles, the ninja wire stretched between them in a lethal hold of steel.

Baiu coughed and gagged, the steel wire digging deep into his neck until it finally nicked his veins, spraying blood all around. Shigure began to push himself backwards as Baiu's corpse fell on the ground beheaded neatly.

"Hello there," the creature said smiling, his face inclined to the side and his body covered in blood. "Going somewhere?"

Shigure screamed as he unloaded the poisonous needles from his umbrella. Baiu's corpse became the impromptu shield of the beast, as it filled with the needles. Horrified gurgles left Shigure's throat, as the thing…the thing simply waited and then jumped, smashing the needles together with Baiu's corpse straight against his face.

The needles pierced his eyes and his forehead, the poison spread and after agonizing seconds…he saw no more.

Shinku breathed in deeply, before looking around quickly. He had done it.

"How?" he murmured.

"The correct ways of killing someone," he remarked. "We've just made our first practice."

Shinku gripped at the side of his head. "The…"

"Well, we both listened…but out of the two, I'm the one with the _guts_ to apply theory into practice."

"Ah…" Shinku coughed, "The scroll. Right?"

"Yes, the scroll…" his Inner-self remarked. "I think Shigure-san," he mock-said, "Is the one who has it."

"Nobody expects to die," Shinku murmured. "Nobody believes he can die in the end. Everyone…everyone thinks they'll win this, they'll survive. Nobody thinks they're going to die…"

He sniffled. "He has a Heaven scroll."

"We have a Heaven scroll," Shinku mumbled. "You know what? We could always plead to get that chocolate back," he jumped with his kunai slamming into the trunk of the nearby tree, climbing it back to the branch where he had left Naruko.

"I really could use some chocolate," he added. "We don't have any to begin with," he gripped onto Naruko's right side, holding her up.

"You know, it's kind of funny," Shinku muttered. "They were all about keeping an eye out for me…when they should have kept an eye out for themselves."

"It isn't funny," Shinku hissed. "It's not funny."

He stared at the direction where Orochimaru flung Sasuke. "We're really going over there," he mumbled. "Are we?"

"Yes, we are," he muttered back. "We killed those three. How difficult can a sannin be in comparison?"

"You know," he remarked. "If this keeps up, we might really make it as a Chuunin."

"Unless we die first," his whispered words carried on in the wind.

He took the jump afterwards.

Well, Kakashi wouldn't be able to kill him, if Orochimaru got him first.

**Author's notes**

**Got the flu.**

**Hurray.**


	41. Every Rising Star Plummets to the Ground

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-One

The uprooted trees left the place to settling clouds of dust. Atop a branch, hidden by a bunch of leaves, Shinku watched while holding Naruko up. He ground his teeth as his eyes gazed on the torn battlefield. A piece of blue soon followed by a strip of black got his attention. Sasuke was down for the count, but apparently, Orochimaru had left.

He was still alive, even as he descended to reach the ground level. He didn't doubt for an instant that he'd die if the Sannin was still there. Thankfully, while Sasuke looked as if he had gone through a meat grinder, he was still breathing.

The boy was shuddering and trembling, his teeth chattering as if he had a high fever. Orochimaru had probably poisoned him, or something similar to that. Looking around the torn meadow, Shinku clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. There wasn't a safe place to hide around there. He really had no choice but to grip on Sasuke with his other arm and then start carrying both of his teammates.

He took three steps, before his breathing grew ragged. No, he wouldn't be going far by carrying them at the same time. Still, he couldn't abandon one and come back for him later. A few steps further and he dropped down to one knee near a fallen tree trunk.

Shinku laid them both against the tree's bark, before quickly scampering for the tree's branches. He cut them off, using the leaves to form a sort of sheet.

A few minutes later, and he admired his work. His hands filled with splinters, he now had pointy branches hidden by a thick sheet of leaves. Hoisting Naruko and Sasuke again, he carried them atop the fallen trunk, before hiding their bodies with the natural vegetation of the upper side of the tree.

In that way, enemy shinobi would think of the fake camp as the place where he had 'camp'. Misdirection was the key. He knew he just had to wait for Naruko or Sasuke to wake up to be out of danger.

The sound of rushing water reached his ears as he drew small breaths. Water meant he could…well, wash his hands of the blood. He flinched as he remembered the tigers. He just had to be quick about it.

He was exhausted as he reached the river. The adrenaline wearing off, the fear dissipating, he stumbled and fell face first in the river. A small part of him whispered that drinking river water without boiling it first was not healthy, but the thirsty side of him didn't care.

If he had to die of something, he'd certainly not die of diarrhoea.

His metal flask filled —he had carried it with him this time around— Shinku returned to 'camp'. Sasuke still shuddered, grounding his teeth in pain, while Naruko simply appeared out like a light, unconscious and unmoving if not for a light up and down movement of her chest.

Instinctively, a hand went to Sasuke's forehead and swiftly Shinku pulled it away while waving it in the air. It wasn't just a fever…it felt like somebody had lit a fire on the Uchiha's head.

"I swear," Shinku muttered, "If Kakashi can see the future…" he broke the towel he had carried from home in half with a kunai, and then proceeded to break it in more small pieces. Wetting them, he placed one in Sasuke's mouth —to keep him hydrated— and one on his forehead.

"Playing nurse," Shinku grumbled. "Better than being dead," he shook his head. He actually dripped some water on Naruko, trying to get a reaction out of the girl. It didn't work. He suspected that either she was a heavy sleeper, or that Orochimaru was responsible for her state too.

He clenched his fists as he walked away from the hiding spot of his two teammates. Misdirection couldn't work without a bait, and he had to be the bait. He didn't know the Kage Bunshin technique like Naruko did, so he had to lay his own life on the line. His heart drummed as he placed himself, carefully hidden by the leaves cloak, near the fake camp.

Shinku gripped on his Kirigakure kunai, and then…

Then, he waited.

His stomach grumbled as the sun began to lower itself, but he didn't move. He could feel his muscles protest, his body whine about the position and his hand tremble from the firm hold he had on the handle of the kunai. There weren't any visible enemies yet, but he couldn't count on the chance of everyone spending the night sleeping. Probably, many teams would start attacking at night.

He blearily closed his eyes. If he prepared a fire near the fake camp…

It _was_ getting somewhat cold. He shuddered. He carefully crept out of his hiding spot, moving quickly to the tree on the other side of the torn battlefield. From there, he began to climb upwards. He didn't have much of a choice —he couldn't go too far from his team to 'hunt' and he doubted he'd ever catch a rabbit to begin with. The problem was the giant trees held nothing of comestible on them.

He gripped at one of the explosive tags. With the light dying, he jumped on the next branch and the one soon after.

Anyone could fish with explosives.

He didn't have a choice. He'd throw the tag, wait for the explosion, and then quickly grab whatever fish rose to the surface.

Shinku tied the tag to a branch —no need to waste a Kunai— and then he flung it at the river's waters. The explosion rocked the air, as the boy jumped down and quickly walked on water, piercing with the Kirigakure kunai whatever fish rose to the surface. Two fishes filled with teeth later, and Shinku was back to 'camp'.

Lighting a fire with matches was easy.

He sighed as he watched the fish cook on the low flames, hidden beneath a mound of dirt. He'd let the fish char —better to eat it burnt than eat it raw.

He clenched his knees with his hands, squirming from the nervousness running through his body. What if someone investigated the noise? What if someone found him?

His questions went thankfully unanswered, as nobody came even as he force-fed fish poultice to his teammates.

"Really," he grumbled to a whimpering Sasuke —he could swear the boy was muttering something about 'Itachi-Nii' every now and then. "I'll have to change the cloth," he sighed as he took a sip of water, before wetting the pieces of cloth once more.

Naruko was still sleeping, but feeding her proved surprisingly easily. She even chewed on her own accord.

She had the guts to frown and make a 'bleah' sound to boot.

"Don't bleah me," Shinku muttered. "What were you expecting? I'm without salt to begin with."

He covered them both with his own bed covers —he had no idea where the two had their own storage seals, and he didn't know what would happen if he tried to use them. He didn't want to attract attention by summoning forth their entire stored armoury or stuff like that.

He returned to his spot, shuddering under the leaves' cover.

It was going to be a long night.

Against all odds, he did wake up in the middle of the night.

Thankfully, _he did_.

A kunai sliced the air. A set of senbon needles pierced his sides as he dashed out of his cover while a strange air pressure pulled apart the 'fake' camp splintering shards of woods and leaves everywhere.

He ground his teeth as he stumbled on the ground, a kunai nicking his shoulder as a kick slammed into his sides. His entire body fell through the air and slammed against the tree nearby, cutting away the air from his lungs as he wheezed out a painful cough.

Three ninja from Otogakure stood in the clearing, their musical notes headbands clearly visible. This was probably what it felt to be on the receiving end of an ambush.

It sucked, if Shinku had to state his opinion about it, it clearly sucked to be the one ambushed. His reinforced vest however had saved his guts. The senbon needles hadn't pierced through the reinforced plates, and the kick had been probably as painful to the attacker as it had been to his ribs.

"Well," one of the three —a heavily bandaged man with a strange neck-fur— spoke then, "You're in the team with the Uchiha, right?"

Shinku coughed, falling down on one knee while holding his sides. He never learned how to throw needles, but he suspected they had coated them in poison to begin with.

"What if I am?" Shinku hissed back.

"We want to see how strong he is. Call him out," the bandaged man remarked. "Or maybe he's gone off picking on weaker teams with his other teammate?" the man inclined his head to the side. "Did they leave you behind as they went hunting?"

"What if they d—"

An airwave sliced through his chest, making him scream as blood appeared on his left and right arm diagonally. The attack had probably meant to slice him also in the chest, but the jacket had absorbed much of the blow —but the reinforced plates below were now quite visible, as the cloth had come loose.

"Ohi! We're the one making questions!" the other man said heatedly, "Trash like you should shut the fuck up and answer!"

"Fuck. Off," Shinku hissed, spitting blood on the ground as he wobbly stood back up.

Senbon needles pierced his neck. His eyes widened in shock, as he gurgled gripping on the needles and hastily pulling them out, blood pouring out copiously from the wounds.

"I didn't hit any veins or important bits," the Kunoichi replied. "But we have all night to have fun with you, unless you tell us what we want to know."

Shinku chuckled, even as blood dripped down on his hands and arms, reaching for his elbows and vest. "You'll have…to do better," he giggled. "This…is nothing."

He took a step forward, but his vision began to spin to the point where he simply fell forward, coughing and wheezing stronger than before.

"You won't be saying the same bullshit bravado once the poison runs its course," the Kunoichi said plainly. "You can avoid a long agony if you simply tell us where the Uchiha is. It isn't difficult. Is he around here? Is he out hunting? Do you have a passphrase set up?"

Shinku closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

His head felt light.

Maybe if he didn't answer, they'd think him dead.

He stopped breathing.

"Ohi," another airwave slammed him back against the tree, but this time he didn't as much as wince letting the blow carry him again on the ground. "Hey! Kin! Did you check the dosage? I think we killed the trash."

"I checked it! It's not my fault! You probably attacked him too hard!" the Kunoichi replied.

"Wait," the voice of the bandaged man said. "He could be faking it."

Shinku mentally hissed. His entire body hurt. He probably had broken his right arm against the tree with the second blow, and he had no idea on what to do…he was pretty much screwed if they didn't catch the bait.

He needed another plan.

He needed something that would work. Maybe he could carpet-bomb them with whatever explosive tags he still had?

"Cut him to bits, Zaku," the voice of the bandaged man remarked. "Leave a message to his teammates. Konoha-Ninjas are so sentimental these days…they'll probably come to us and save us the time."

"All right Dosu," Zaku muttered.

In that instant, Shinku rolled to the side and dashed. He barely took two steps in the opposite direction that a volley of senbon needles struck his back —ricocheting off his vest— and a kunai then plunged deeply near his spine. The plate absorbed the brunt of the impact, but the tip still pierced through a good inch.

He coughed out blood, as he turned his head to see the bandaged man holding a triumphant smile on his face.

"You really thought us so stupid?"

Shinku chuckled, before opening the Icha-Icha.

Dosu watched as a book filled with explosive tag opened right in front of him. He pulled back, leaving the kunai deep into the wound and shielding himself from the incoming explosion…that didn't come.

"We run…from what we fear," Shinku mumbled, taking a deep breath. "I…Let's call everyone."

"Uh?"

"Ohi, ohi," Shinku muttered, "You done? No, because…oh, well," he mumbled, grabbing a hold of _all_ the tags inside the book. "This is…going boom…" Shinku chuckled. "Ah…"

"Poison got to his head," Dosu stated plainly. "We should wait for him to bleed out."

"Uhm…why can't I cut him to bits?" Zaku remarked.

Shinku fell on the ground, his entire body trembling.

"Don't waste chakra," Dosu replied. "The way I got him, it's a miracle he's still standing."

Shinku sniffled.

It was very cold.

The ground was hard. The rocks were hurting the sides of his face.

He couldn't hear much, only the thumping of something in his chest.

He had tears in the corner of his eyes.

There wasn't a reset button, was there? He should have prepared a Kawarimi, filled it with explosive tags and then enacted a replacement.

He hadn't.

Well…he had done his job, right?

Kakashi wasn't going to kill him.

Tears began to fall down his cheeks, mixing with the blood that poured from his neck on the ground in a puddle of salty water and crimson liquid.

"So…we're dying here?" his reflection muttered in the puddle, which he wasn't even seeing but simply imagined. "We're dying in the forest of Death, right?"

He didn't answer.

"We're dying here, right?"

He didn't answer.

"_**ANSWER ME!**_" his other voice roared. "_**DO. WE. DIE. HERE!?**_"

He trembled. What could he do?

"You can start by standing up," his other voice stated plainly.

It hurt everywhere. How could he stand? Every single limb of his felt heavy. How could he walk?

"You don't ask how," his other self said. "You stand. I'm telling you to stand."

They would simply attack him again. They would simply strike him down again.

"Then, we stand again."

They'd kill him.

"Then, we just defy death."

_That's impossible_.

"We won't know until we try," his other voice whispered…the voice was now faint. "Stand now, or die. _**WAKE THE FUCK UP SHINKU HARUNO! I'M ORDERING YOU TO WAKE THE FUCK UP!**_"

He blearily opened his eyes to the cerulean ones of Naruko whose face was far more demonic than he had ever seen her have. She was breathing heavily, her entire body awash with blue chakra, but it made little difference.

"Ah…ah…" Naruko gasped for air, holding a firm grip on his shoulders —he was seeing stars because of the pressure on his right one, but he refrained from saying that. "Here. Eat. You stupid, stupid, stupid imbecile!"

Naruko literally forced him to swallow some sort of bitter sphere, followed by another and yet one more. He coughed and spluttered, before he found himself pushed down on the ground.

"Now you stay here," Naruko remarked coldly, cracking her knuckles. "I'm gonna go break some bones," with a feral growl, she turned and gazed at the trio from Otogakure.

"Well!? Why did you fuckers had all to gank up on Shin-chan!? You think I'm going to let this pass, uh!? You goddamn better be ready to get your arseholes ploughed, because by the time I'll be done with you not even your mother will recognize your ugly face!"

"He was in the way," Dosu stated plainly. "We wanted to challenge the Uchiha."

"Ah…I don't give a damn," Naruko cracked her neck. "You mess with one my friends, you mess with family. You mess with family, and you're pleading to get _in a world of hurt_."

Naruko charged ahead. Dosu had expected the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi to be strong, he had even planned a contingency where Zaku would keep her at bay while Kin Genjutsu-ed her and he delivered a few blows to the flanks.

It simply meant nothing.

The girl literally tore through Zaku's airwaves as if they were but a gentle breeze, slamming her right fist straight through Zaku's stomach and rupturing through his flesh _all the_ _way to the other side_. Zaku coughed out a river of blood as Kin flanked them both to fling her senbon needles.

The needles did pierce the girl…but then they simply dropped on the ground as the wounds closed. Dropping Zaku's bleeding body like a now useless bag, the girl twisted in mid-air before slamming her foot down mere inches away from Kin's retreating head. The ground cracked.

Dosu had no doubts. If he didn't get an exchange token soon…he charged to where the downed boy was. If he could reach him…

"Dobe," a giant purple-chakra hand gripped him in less than an instant. "What's going on?" Sasuke Uchiha grumbled, hissing from the pain in his shoulder. He barely recalled the fight —better to call it trashing— with the traitorous sannin, but he knew that whatever the man had done wasn't anything good.

"Please!" Dosu yelled then as he felt his air coming less, "We're sorry! We'll give you our scroll if…"

Sasuke looked with his Mangekyou from Dosu to Naruko's incensed form, and then to Shinku's body lying on the ground in a puddle of blood.

His eyes narrowed.

The Susanoo strengthened its grip.

Dosu's ribcage snapped into a pulp as the man's entire body turned to mush in the chakra construct's hands.

"Dosu!" Kin yelled, watching the scene horrified…before Naruko upcoming hand gripped her by the left arm. With a quick thrust, Naruko pushed the Otogakure kunoichi on the ground and then _tore off her limb_. Letting go of the broken arm, Naruko grabbed the back of the head of the woman and pulled it upwards, letting her arm circle beneath it until with a quick jab…the neck broke, and the kunoichi died with her mouth morphed in a scream for mercy.

Breathing heavily, Naruko wobbled away from the corpse and back towards the downed form of Shinku. "Ohi," she mumbled. "I said to stay the hell awake," she sniffled.

"Dobe," Sasuke closed his eyes, letting go of the 'pulp' that was the Otogakure's shinobi. "Is he…"

"Shin-chan's breathing," Naruko shot back, giving him a sour look. "And his cooking sucks."

"Why did you have to add that?" Sasuke grumbled, as he stepped forward. Without saying another word, he placed both hands on Naruko's trembling shoulders. "It's all right, you know?"

"What if he doesn't wake up?"

"Knowing him, he'll be up and about in no time," Sasuke replied. "Now, let's get out of here before someone else comes snooping around."

Naruko chuckled. "If they come, I'll just show them what happens when you mess with my team, 'ttebayo," she raised her right hand, completely drenched in blood just like her left one, and frowned. "There's so much blood in a human body?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied dryly. His eyes looked to the three bodies on the ground, "I'll check for their scrolls."

"Yeah, you do that," Naruko hummed, before wincing at the torn look of Shinku's outfit. "Did he go through the wringer or something? Ohi, what if they poisoned him?"

"You gave him a soldier pill already?"

"Course I did! I'm not stupid," Naruko retorted hotly. "My mom nearly gave me an entire chemist shop in pills and bandages but…" she bit her lips, "Again, I have no idea how to set a broken bone."

"He broke one of his bones again?" Sasuke asked in disbelief, "You think nature hates him or something?" triumphantly, Sasuke grabbed from the poultice remains of Dosu an Earth scroll. "We've got the scroll."

"You think it's safe to move him?" Naruko asked warily, "I mean…he's messed up a lot and I don't know about moving him…"

"I had free time in my hands," Sasuke remarked dryly. "Memorizing a few medical textbooks was easy. Knowing the levels of stupid in the team…someone had to be ready to patch up the wounds."

Naruko gave Sasuke a bleary look. "You're lucky I don't hit ladies."

Sasuke returned a sour look to Naruko. "You're lucky I don't hit retards."

They both chuckled, bitterly. "I feel like shit," Naruko mumbled, stopping herself from passing her hands on her hair. "You think it's going to wash away?"

"The blood? Probably. The stupid? Never."

"Are you done with the 'stupid' jokes?"

"Mangekyou sharingan is still showing me the deaths in repeat, I need to distract myself," Sasuke muttered. "Frankly, this is a curse. I have no idea why anyone would want these eyes," he shuddered.

"Duh, maybe for the giant purple sex doll you pop out from your ass in the blink of an eye?"

"Hey, hearing the elders I can also throw fire from my eyes that burns as hot as the sun for seven days and seven nights," Sasuke remarked.

"Good, we'll cook sausages with that," Naruko replied sourly. "Now, if you're done whining about your Uke-chan powers, tell me what we have to do to set Shin-chan's arm."

"First, we need a splint…"

Shinku grumbled. He felt his cheek poked. He grumbled a bit more.

"Ohi," he blinked, blearily opening his eyes. "It's boring in here," his other-self remarked dryly.

"We…alive?"

"Yep," Inner nodded, "At least, unless in Death we're both tied to this freakish hallucination plane then yes, we're both fine."

Around them was nothing but a deep wasteland tinted purple, with the bright green scales of a giant snake slithering away with a bear in his jaws.

"Again with that?" he grumbled.

"You know," Inner said plainly, "Maybe that was a premonition of things to come? You know, we're the bear and Orochimaru the snake, and he eats us so we die and…"

"As if stuff like seeing the future exists," Shinku mumbled, gripping on the wasteland's purple sand. "Why is it sticky?"

"Sand mixed with blood," Inner shrugged. "I thought it would be a nice decorative element."

"You couldn't have prepared a fluffy bedroom filled with bright and cheerful stuff, right?"

"What? Why would I ever do something like that?" Inner crossed his eyes in shock, "I'm not some pansy whose strong point is baking."

"Thanks," he muttered. "For…you know, everything."

"No need to be so sentimental," Inner rolled his eyes. "We could have been awesome. You could have stood up and, making one giant roar of anger, charged ahead against the enemies and then unlocked your secret technique of ultra-speed to deal with them in slow-motion."

Shinku looked blearily at Inner. "Yanking my chain?"

"You barely have a nickel, there's no chain to yank," Inner smiled as he winked. "But guess who's awesome? I am! The awesome Inner solves the situation once more!"

"You want an applause?"

"Don't need one," Inner shrugged.

The landscape around him trembled a bit, as the sky began to fall into pieces. "Well," Inner said, "Time to wake up."

"Uh?"

"Shin-chan! Ohi, Sasuke! Shin-chan's waking up!" Shinku hissed in pain as he felt his right side burn. He opened his eyes weakly; taking in the facts, he had Naruko's blond locks practically drowning him in a sea of golden. It wasn't as poetic as it seemed, because he literally was suffocating.

"Gah," he spluttered out a few strands of hair. "Gah…" he muttered.

"You all right Shinku?" Sasuke asked from behind him. The Uchiha was probably acting as a rear guard.

Shinku's throat was parched, but he did manage a weak 'yeah' out of his mouth.

"He says he's fine and that he can't wait for some deep tender love from his Uke tonight!" Naruko yelled back.

"I'll ignore everything other than the 'He's fine', Dobe," Sasuke clicked his tongue. "We're nearly at the tower anyway. The Oto team had the scroll we needed," then, as an afterthought, he added, "How did you get a Heaven scroll by yourself anyway?"

"Ah…" Shinku mumbled, "Ambush."

"Shin-chan says he awesomely ambushed a team while carrying us to safety! There were heaps of explosions and sunglasses too!"

"Dobe, why don't you shut up for once?" Sasuke remarked. "There it is!" the Uchiha said suddenly, "The tower!"

Shinku closed his eyes and ground his teeth harder as he suddenly felt the pull of gravity push him down. Naruko's muscles counteracted the pull, and he hissed in pain with tears in the corner of his eyes at the whiplash.

He soon found himself hoisted by both his teammates —his arms circling around their necks— as they carried him inside.

"Ohi! We need a medic in here!" Naruko yelled aloud to the empty hall. "Really! Shin-chan's wounded and I don't trust Uke-chan's techniques at all!"

"We need to open the scrolls now, idiot," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

The Earth and Heaven scroll quickly rolled open on the ground, where they both popped in a cloud of smoke to reveal…

Yugao Uzuki.

"You did…" Yugao blinked at the amount of blood covering her Genin. "Infirmary, all of you, now. Is anyone seriously wounded?"

"Shin-chan," Naruko said plainly, as if it was obvious. "Me and Uke-chan are fine."

"Sasuke and I," Sasuke corrected.

"We…did it?" Shinku mumbled with his eyes half-open and half-closed.

"Yes, and all in just two days…I'm sure your parents will be proud of you but now move it," Yugao quickly gripped on to Shinku's shoulder. "Let's not waste time. Infections don't wait."

The infirmary of the tower was a clean and neat place that smelled of alcohol. Yugao gently laid Shinku on a nearby bed, and then gave a curt nod to the medic assigned —whose hands glowed green as he began working on patching the wounds.

Sasuke's eyes spun gently with the Mangekyou, as he took in the movements and the technique. Just because the sharingan was an instrument of murder…it didn't mean that was its only benefit.

Naruko fidgeted like a squirrel on caffeine, her ears perking up and down every few seconds.

The door slid open with a bang.

"MY BABYYYY!" Kushina flung herself to hug Naruko, making the girl gawk and cough, before spluttering out a few strands of her mother's hair.

"Mom!" Naruko whined for a moment, before returning the hug and burying her face in her mother's neck.

Mikoto Uchiha entered gracefully next, followed by the Yondaime and Kakashi —albeit the silver haired Jounin made sure to have his sensei between him and the woman.

"Sasuke?" Mikoto asked, seeing her son intent on watching his teammate healing. "Is everything all right, dear?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, opening them back up to their normal dark appearance. "Ye—"

Mikoto just hugged him, much to Sasuke's bewildered expression.

"Hello there," Kakashi eye-smiled, gazing at Shinku. "You done with your half-asleep ruse?"

"Do I get a free gut punch if I do?" Shinku replied, gazing up weakly at his sensei. "Being ambushed sucks."

Kakashi chuckled. "That's why you should do the ambushing, and not viceversa."

Shinku exhaled in relief.

"You did well kid," Kakashi said with his serious voice. "You did very well."

Shinku smiled, a bright beaming smile. "Thanks."

"You read the porn?"

"It was…explosive," Shinku chuckled.

"You didn't…blow too early, right?" Kakashi replied with a snicker.

"I'm not a…short fuse," Shinku remarked.

"All right, all right," Naruko suddenly said, "Kakashi-Nii, you stop corrupting Shin-chan right now! Really!"

The girl pouted. "You never challenge me to dirty joke contests! It's unfair!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "I knew it would be a stupid reason. I knew it."

"Well, you all did well anyway," Minato said. "Now rest up. Since you arrived early, you'll probably be bored out of your wits but there's nothing we can do about it. In three days, the second task will be done and hopefully we'll see the final competitors in the tournament the next month."

"Oh, right," Naruko blinked. "Hey dad? You know we were attacked in the forest, right?"

"Well, it was part of the exam but I had all the trust…"

"No, I mean…you know who attacked us, right?"

"The cameras were turned off to avoid accusations of favouritism within the forest," Minato replied, his face slowly becoming a frown. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Naruko shrugged, a small smile gracing her lips. "There was just, you know, a FUCKING S-RANK NINJA!" the girl yelled aloud, making Minato 'eep' lightly. When Naruko channelled the 'Angry' Kushina, she was as fearsome as her mother.

"What?" Mikoto muttered in disbelief.

"Orochimaru! Oro-chi-maru!" Naruko spelled it out, "Really! That damn snake freak hits like a train! Weren't there meant to be Anbu patrolling the forest? Were they all taking naps or something? Was there an orgy going on in the bushes!?"

"Naruko! Language!" Minato exclaimed. "Really! Jiraiya-sensei told me he was careful about what words he said in front of you!"

"Course he did, but the Geisha were quite looser just like the sailors," Naruko replied with a snappish tone, "And…"

"Wait, Jiraiya-sensei brought you into the whorehouses?" Minato asked, his voice devoid of mirth.

"_Duh_!" Naruko rolled her eyes, as if it was obvious.

Minato smiled. "I'll have a chat with him later…now, what did Orochimaru do to you all?"

"Oh," Naruko shrugged. "He just hit me really hard."

Sasuke grumbled, before pulling down his shirt to show a mark on the side of his neck, near the shoulder. "The bastard bit me."

Naruko blinked.

She opened her mouth, about to say something concerning 'paedophiles' and 'having an older Seme' when the serious look on her father's face stilled her.

It was an extremely serious expression.

"That…" Minato muttered, "That might be a problem."

To those words, silence fell in the infirmary.

**Author's notes**

**Fever went down.**

**I had forty-degrees and half the first night, then thirty-nine and half the second day. Today I'm at thirty-seven and eight.**

**But I feel better than ever.**


	42. No Chocolate Means Ultra-Luck

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Two

Shinku mainly slept. Chakra healing was wonderful, but it had its limits. He wasn't bored for long, because when he opened his eyes again, he opened them to bright green mint hair resting on the side of his bed peacefully snoring away. He chuckled lightly at the scene.

Fu was drooling all over the bed sheets, snoring softly. "And this makes it the second time," Shinku mumbled. Fu's ears twitched as she stirred, moaning softly before popping an eye open and then the other. Blearily rubbing them, she made a small groaning sound as she fully woke up. A few seconds later, and she turned red.

"H-Hey," they both stammered out at the same time.

"So," Fu fidgeted, "You passed the second exam!"

"I-It was…a team effort," Shinku muttered.

Fu remained quiet. Shinku didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry," Fu blurted out, "I was…busy," she explained. "If…If I had seen what was going on…I'd have intervened."

"It's…not a problem," Shinku smiled awkwardly. "Even Naruko and Sasuke were knocked out by Orochimaru…"

Fu lowered her gaze. "But I had to patrol with the other Anbu! I even knew where you were but…well, they assigned me elsewhere," she pouted. "It was to avoid favouritism."

Shinku's eyes half-closed, "Let me guess…they assigned someone to us who looked elsewhere?"

Fu nodded awkwardly. "The Hokage is really angry about it too, I heard him yelling for a good half an hour," she then brought her face nearer to whisper, "I think he's still yelling even now."

"He seems like the quiet type," Shinku said, "I suppose he has some lungs, right?"

Fu giggled. "Yeah." She looked to him with a small smile, before adding, "What happened after that bad meanie came by?"

"Ah," Shinku's eyes looked up to the ceiling. "Nothing much."

"Nothing much doesn't account for an extra heaven scroll," this voice was male, and Shinku instinctively stiffened like a plank of wood. "And I do have a set of healthy lungs, I admit," the Hokage added with a small chuckle. "So, is this going to become a habit? I mean, you saving my daughter? Because I warn you, I am terribly fast with my kunai."

Shinku looked from the Hokage to Fu, and then back with a perplexed expression. "Ops," Minato nervously chuckled. "I can't read the mood to save myself, right?"

Fu turned crimson, and began to fidget.

A moment of silence passed. A moment of absolute, complete and utter silence went by with all three sides of the conversation suffering through their respective embarrassment.

"Well! Well, well…" Minato hummed to break the silence. "I need to know what happened during the time between Orochimaru's attack and the moment your teammates both woke up," he stated. "Also, anything of importance you might have noticed."

Was he debriefing with the Hokage present in the room? He apparently was.

"W-When Orochimaru attacked, he…was sort of like a human and a snake, like…his lower half was that of a snake and he punched Naruko before hitting with his tail Sasuke. I backtracked to grab Naruko who Orochimaru had pushed backwards, and an Ame team arrived on the scene. I disposed of them, and acquired their Heaven Scroll. Proceeded to Sasuke's last known location…and Orochimaru was already gone. I made camp," Shinku said, taking a moment to catch his breath, "and then I hid both Sasuke and Naruko while I kept guard…"

"Calm down, kid, nobody's on your case," Minato said, holding up a small and soft smile. "So an Ame team tried to stop you, and you 'disposed' of them?"

"I'm used to killing Ame shinobi by now," Shinku replied with a hard glint in his eyes.

"While carrying Naruko?"

Shinku blinked. "Yes. There was this tree…it had fallen after the impact of Naruko's body against it so it made some sort of natural hidey hole…one of the Ame shinobi went in to investigate…I gutted him. Grabbed Naruko, fake-called for help, ran up a tree, left Naruko there, flung an explosive tag at the second Genin and when the third came back out I jumped down and sliced his neck."

He inclined his head to the side, perplexed. "I'm good at slicing necks with ninja wire."

"Wonderful," Minato smiled, making a small nervous chuckle. "Then the Sound team ambushed you, and from what Naruko told me you were in a pretty bad shape by the time she and Sasuke finally woke up."

Shinku awkwardly nodded. "They wanted to fight against Sasuke, but…well, I refused to tell them where my teammates were because I hid them and—"

"Why didn't you hide with them too?"

"Ah…I don't trust my hiding skills that much," Shinku chuckled. "I mean…I had planned a little trap with a fake camp and all, but the sound team just saw through it with ease so—"

"You left yourself out as bait?" Minato asked with his voice quiet and his eyes softly looking at him with a sort of...was it pity? Why did the man _pity_ him?

Shinku blinked. "Of course, if they saw me, they wouldn't look further right? I even made a fire to cook dinner…didn't have any salt though, so the fish tasted like crap…sorry." He bit his tongue at the 'crap'. Really, saying 'crap' in front of the Hokage!

"By the medic-nin report, you're lucky to even be alive. One of their attacks nearly nicked your spine," Fu's grip on his hand strengthened, making him gaze towards the girl for just a moment, "And there were traces of poison through your bloodstream —what little blood you still had."

Minato passed a hand through his blond hair, "Had it been an official mission, I'd be assigning you a medal for this, you know?"

"B-But…"

"No, no, listen here kid. You went beyond the call of duty to protect your teammates, placing your very life at risk and refusing to cooperate with an enemy team. That's something I don't want you to misunderstand, ever. These exams are a mean to simulate war, that's their important characteristic no matter the moniker of 'exams' they are given. Even in these circumstances, a lesser shinobi might have run away, he might have ignored his teammates to save his own life. Orochimaru is an S-rank shinobi with a run on sight order. You didn't, and for that you have my gratitude, both as a father and as the Hokage. It's good to see the youth of Konoha burn brightly with the Will of Fire."

He smiled then, "Well, I can't wait to see you in the third part of the Chuunin Exams. I'll leave you and your girlfriend alone now, just…don't do anything written on any Icha-Icha until you're both older, understood?"

They both spluttered, turning twin shades of red as Minato laughed and left.

Shinku closed his eyes for a moment, before realizing Fu's grip on his hand hadn't come less. "I…" she feebly mumbled, "I w-wouldn't…" she murmured something else unintelligible.

"Eh?" Shinku's eyes opened to stare in surprise at Fu, who looked downwards while squirming on her seat.

"I…wouldn't mind…being…girlfriend…" she eeped then, the red on her face turning a new level of scarlet.

Shinku gazed at her for a moment more, and then awkwardly smiled. "I'll…be in…your care, then?"

Fu looked at him, wide-eyed. She proceeded to tackle him with a startled cry, making him gasp in surprise. "Yes!"

The door of the infirmary opened in that split second, as Sasuke stepped in with sweat rolling down his brow. "No! No! I missed it! I missed it!" Sasuke growled, raising his hands in the air. "I MISSED IT!"

"Don't worry," Naruko replied, appearing from a spot on the ceiling. "I've got the pictures!" holding on to a camera, the blonde swiftly descended from her hiding place and then moved closer to Sasuke. "Look! Aren't they cute together? Like, really!" there were tears of joy in Naruko's eyes. "I'm so proud of you Shin-chan! Aw… they're both red!"

Sasuke grumbled. "You could have waited or chickened out! Really!" he crossed his arms over his chest, "I didn't want to watch the reaction from a camera! And…Naruko! There's your thumb over the screen!"

"Ops, my bad…tee-hee-hee," Naruko replied awkwardly. "Sowwy…"

"Don't destroy the language, Dobe!" Sasuke snapped. "Gah! How could you? You know I'm forever doomed to never find true romance, with my fan-girls hanging around like parasites! I wanted to assist, just once, to a blossoming pure love between two socially awkward persons!"

"For some reason…that pisses me off," Shinku mumbled. Fu was apparently out cold, steam emerging from her ears.

"Ohi! Don't you be mean to Shin-chan and Fu-chan now!" Naruko exclaimed, huffing. "He saved your guts and mine! Did you have to pull the socially stunted card?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Sorry. The tattoo hurts like hell. Kakashi's isn't able to do something without making you suffer to save his life."

"That's Kakashi-Nii all right," Naruko rolled her eyes.

Shinku closed his eyes with a smile on his lips. He was alive. The Hokage had praised him. He had a…girlfriend. Things were turning out great…

He really should have let go of the chocolate sooner.

Fu couldn't remain longer —she still had to patrol, after all— and so Shinku found himself simply walking from the infirmary to the bunks assigned to the shinobi who had completed the task earlier. Apparently, they weren't the only team to already complete the test…but they were the only ones assigned to that side of the tower —to avoid people slicing each other's throat, probably.

At the end of the fifth day, there were seven teams lined up neatly.

The Suna team, holding a red-haired boy with dark circles around his eyes and a gourd on his back, a woman with a giant fan and a strange pyjama-wearing guy with purple mascara on his face.

Team Ten, with the Yamanaka girl and her two side-kicks. Team Eight with the Hyuga girl Naruko hated, the Inuzuka that Sasuke despised, and Shino who apparently gave him a curt nod and a thumb-up.

Shinku had to blink for a moment before realizing what the other boy meant with that, before widening his eyes in surprise. How could the Aburame know? Shino just tapped his nose at his perplexed gaze and Shinku nodded back, suddenly understanding...nothing, but probably tied to pheromones or stuff like that. Naruko cut their silent conversation short by giving him a light menacing growl that sort of said 'don't gaze in that direction or I'll slap you with a rolled newspaper'.

There was also Team Gai, with Neji giving a stiff snort —directed towards the other Hyuga, rather than at him. Did everyone hate that girl? What was she, some sort of punching bag?

There was also a team from Konoha with three elder Genin, who seemed to like the purple colour for some reason.

Except for their team, just one more had passed —the Kirigakure one.

"If Zabuza-sama asks," one of them whispered to the others, "We want to teach him a lesson in public, all right?"

The other two quickly nodded.

"Now if we don't pass, we all make a run for Kiri as fast as we can."

The other two nodded faster.

"Well," the Yondaime spoke clapping his hands, gathering everyone's attention. Around the man were all the Jounin-sensei of the respective teams, meaning that Zabuza was delivering the evil-eye to…_Shinku_. "Congratulation on passing the second exam!"

Shinku awkwardly smiled towards Zabuza.

Zabuza grumbled. He wanted the Anbu to _kill_ his team, not to bring it in one piece to the finals! Was it that difficult to understand?

He ignored the droned out words of the Yondaime —the blond fop always talked a lot about the Will of Fire, but the 'Bloody Mist's Will' was way better— and concentrated on getting his message across. If the boy _killed_ his team, he'd even invite him for a sake drink later that day. He was sure they'd have a lot of bloody stories to tell each other, and he did need someone to drink with —drinking alone was simply too risky in a foreign village.

"I think Zabuza's out for your blood, Shin-chan," Naruko mumbled. "He's been staring in our direction pretty hard. Did you answer his burning with love letters?"

Shinku gave a sour look towards Naruko.

"Sorry, sorry…" Naruko giggled softly.

"The strength of the country," Minato's voice came then stronger, "is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength…is born only through life-risking battles," with those words said, Shinku's glare snapped hard, harder than ever, towards Kakashi.

And Kakashi, the despicable bastard, the horrendous pile of utter…had the galls to _nod_ to those words…and his only eye, of course, settled on Shinku.

"If anyone wishes to forfeit their exams now, this would be the moment," as soon as Minato said that…

Nobody raised his arm.

The twenty-one Genin moved with their respective Jounin-sensei up in the stands, as the giant board soon began to ring through the names.

The first match soon began.

Sasuke Uchiha, versus Akado Yoroi…it lasted, predictably, the time for Sasuke to glance at the sunglass wearing purple-dressed man before flicking him on the other side of the arena with a simply summoned Susanoo arm.

Akado twitched on the ground, not really doing anything more.

"Overkill," Naruko grumbled. "That's like, overkill totally!"

Shinku chuckled nervously. It was anti-climactic but…who could fault Sasuke from ending the match early?

With a long loud yawning, the Uchiha stretched and then returned up to the stalls. "Now beat this, Bimbo!"

"Oh! You're so on! Come on dad, make the board move faster!"

Minato chuckled nervously, even as Gekko Hayate sighed —and gave his trademark cough.

Sumio Sakoda faced off against Aburame Shino.

Shinku's skin simply began to itch, not only because Shino called forth a storm of crawling bugs out of his sleeves…but also because his enemy made a single hand-seal before disappearing in a thick cloud of fog.

The insects ate the cloud as if it were _cotton candy_, with Shino merely pushing his sunglasses back up the ridge of his nose. "Kikkaichu eat chakra. Thank you for giving them a refreshing drink. You have lost. Why do I say this? Because you can't hide from my Kikkaichu's senses."

True to his words, Sumio Sakoda surrendered before ending up covered in bugs.

Tsurugi Misumi went up against Kankuro, who was apparently the pyjama-wearing guy with the mascara. Shinku shuddered. On one side, Misumi made him feel uncomfortable with just the amount of 'bending' he could do, and on the other the mascara guy had a very, very scary puppet.

Wasn't there anyone normal like him in the middle of these monsters?

He was still shuddering when Naruko tapped him on the shoulder and he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ehm, Shin-chan? It's your turn?" Naruko said, chuckling. "Come on, enough scaredy-cat show!"

Shinku swallowed and then gazed at the electronic board for the first time.

Of course, he had been stupid to forget about it. He was participating too.

He walked his way down hesitantly, before stepping in front of his opponent.

Ino Yamanaka looked at him while huffing in displeasure. "So! Finally! Didn't they tell you that making a lady wait is rude, dead-last!?"

"Ohi Ino-bitch! Shut the hell up! Go Shin-chan! Kick her ass all the way to the compost heap!" Naruko yelled from the stands.

Ino huffed, gripping a kunai in her right hand. "As if the dead last could do anything!"

Shinku…Shinku felt strange.

He didn't care about being insulted concerning his 'dead-last' status. He didn't care about fighting a girl rather than a boy, but…

But there was something missing. He couldn't…well, yes, he could fight but…

It was as if something was _missing_ from the fight. Something important, that should have been there. The moment the instructor gave the start, Ino charged ahead.

There wasn't…

Shinku felt the fist hit him hard in the stomach as he instinctively pulled his body back, but it was like being in water. He didn't feel the need to guard. He didn't feel the desire to kill. This was…this was playing. It wasn't…real.

"Oh," Kakashi mumbled from his spot, "That might be a problem."

"Uh? Hey Shin-chan! Wake up! You've got to fight on! Come on! It's Ino! Don't be a gentleman and hit that damn bitch!"

Sasuke growled, before slamming a fist on Naruko's head. "Dobe, that's not the problem."

"Hey! Ouch, hitting a lady…well, what's his problem then!?"

"He's not used to fighting without the intent to kill," Kakashi stated plainly. "He's so used to it, to the adrenaline…that anything else…well, look at him. He doesn't consider Ino a threat."

"What? Come on Shin-chan! I know Ino's weak, but if you don't consider her a threat then dispose of her! Don't just take hits!" Naruko yelled from the stand.

Ino stopped attacking. "What? Not a threat? I was second at the academy! Only that fat runt had a higher score! How am I not a threat to you, dead last!?"

Shinku massaged his chin —hit by a fist earlier— and opened his mouth.

"You're pathetic."

There was a moment of silence.

"What?"

"You. Are. Pathetic. You scream. You yell. You…you toy. That's…ugly. Horrible. It's…like watching a kid play in the sand. It's disgusting. Horrendous. Putrid. I wonder if you ever faced fear. Fought anyone? Killed anyone? You're…pathetic. Worthless. Insignificant."

Zabuza nodded sagely from his spot, he was tempted of saying 'that's my kid right there' but unfortunately, he had been assigned three imbeciles.

Ino growled, "Oh yeah!? I'll show you fear then!" her hands went up to the familiar signature technique of her family.

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Well, if Shinku knows what's good for him, he'll dodge and…"

"Shintenshin No Jutsu!"

"He didn't dodge," Kakashi deadpanned.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said crisply. "You suck."

"Kakashi-Nii…you're a horrible teacher."

Kakashi nervously laughed. "Well…I'm sure he'll have better luck at the next exams…"

Shinku's body cracked a smile, even as it was Ino inside who…

"Don't…"

Who _stilled_. She hadn't said that.

Gekko Hayate narrowed his eyes. Considering Yugao was out patrolling, she had asked him to keep an eye out on her team. Well, he couldn't display favouritism, but he was just about to call the match set in that instant…

"Wh-What!?" Shinku's voice shrieked out. No! She was supposed to be in control!

"Peek-A-Boo," his mouth whispered next. "Guess we're not alone anymore Shinku…" he chuckled. "Time to teach someone a lesson about privacy."

Ino's eyes widened tremendously. It wasn't _possible_. It simply wasn't possible for anyone to commandeer their own bodies while the jutsu worked! The technique was unblockable once executed! Her father had told her…

"There's always an exception, brat," the voice spoke again. "If I were you, I'd return to your body now before I decide to become creative. I swear, I am not kind-hearted like Outer. I will kill you, I will butcher you and rip your guts out of your very body, feast on your entrails as I devour your soul. You better leave, Ino-chan…or I might just swallow you whole and leave nothing for the hyenas…"

The voice whispered to her very ear, and for once, in her spirit-form, Ino turned and gazed…straight into pitch-black pools of darkness coming from a red-haired demon.

Inner smiled, before pulling his fist backwards. "Bye-Bye!"

With a feral smile, the punch slammed straight through the girl's 'spirit' face and sent her flying out of Shinku's body, and back in her own.

Shinku gagged, before opening his eyes. Ino gazed at him now shuddering in fear. "So…so that's what Hibachi meant," she mumbled. "That's what you're hiding! You're a nutcase! Two minds in one body isn't possible!"

Shinku clenched his teeth. His heart spiked a little. "That's what got Ami out of the ninja, uh? It was him! You! _You're a freaking psychopath!_"

Time…stilled. If for a second, time actually stilled. The heart drummed just a bit more. His eyes narrowed more. The glint shone through. A light sheen of chakra pushed to appear through Shinku's shoulders, the colour of the chakra a malevolent purple. A feral like mouth gently formed near Shinku's ear, before whispering two simple words to him. Two words he desperately wanted to hear.

_**Gut. Her.**_

The Kirigakure Kunai pushed through the air with enough speed and strength that Ino didn't dodge, or better yet, couldn't. Shinku's visage was one of animalistic anger mixed with the frothing desire to destroy and tear apart, and the strange thing on his shoulders seemed to merge with his upper body to truly form a demonic entity… yet the tip of the kunai stilled a mere inch away from Ino's stomach.

The gruff hand of Asuma Sarutobi had stopped the attack.

A small dribble of blood fell down the tip of the Kirigakure kunai, slowly travelling across it towards its handle. A small droplet fell on the ground. Calmly, the purple chakra slowly began to dissipate.

"Because of intermission from the Jounin of Team Ten, I declare this match a victory for Shinku Haruno."

"You heard the proctor," Asuma gruffly muttered. "Now stop pushing."

Shinku growled for a moment more, before pulling the kunai back and pocketing it. He spat at Ino's feet. "You're a pathetic worthless coward. Hide behind your sensei as much as you like, but eventually you'll have to face the world alone."

He turned and left, climbing the steps back to the balcony quickly…before outright disappearing through the closest door available.

"So, my adorable student is an adrenaline junkie with a split personality," Kakashi chuckled nervously. "Isn't he just _adorable_?"

Naruko and Sasuke both nodded to one another…and then slammed their respective fists into Kakashi's 'precious' area.

Kakashi puffed in smoke, but still…they hoped he had _felt_ the pain.

"I'll go look for him," Sasuke said, halting Naruko. "You still have your match to fight," he added quickly. Naruko opened her mouth, about to say something, before crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're stupid or something, Uchiha?"

A Kage Bunshin later, and a Kage-Naruko and Sasuke went off.

The Real Naruko meanwhile remained behind, gripping on the steel bar tightly.

She was glad she couldn't hear the Kyuubi any longer. She didn't know what that snake-freak had done —something about 'five elements seal' or whatever, but with that on she'd have no troubles with the fuzzy-butt. She just had to keep quiet about it.

Her eyes settled on Ino's still shaken form. On one hand, she couldn't understand why Shinku hadn't attacked back sooner. Whatever Kakashi had said, she hadn't understood the complicated words. She'd ask her mother afterwards. If only Yugao-Sensei had been there, or Fu…but they were both out patrolling probably. She wondered why her father hadn't sent Kakashi-Nii out there to patrol too.

Or maybe he did, and the Kakashi that had watched until then had been a clone?

"Naru…Naruko-san?"

She gripped on the steel bar stronger, denting it slightly. The problem was that she was now alone, except for her father who was down there watching the proceedings with a keen eye, she was outright alone up in the balcony.

"Ohi, Hinata's talking to—"

Akamaru yipped in fear as Naruko's eyes turned angrily towards them. "Do I care?"

"Ah," Hinata clutched a small ceramic container in her hands, "I-I…ma-made this for…wounds."

"So?" Naruko retorted, clicking her tongue. "You getting anywhere with your words, or are you just wasting your breath?"

"Y-Your f-friend was…hurt," Hinata stammered out finally, "I th-thought…"

"That stuff is probably poison anyway," Naruko hissed back, "You can choke on it."

"Now that is very rude," wonderful, even their Jounin-sensei entered the fray. "Hinata was just…"

"Listen, old lady," that got a narrow 'affronted' gaze from Kurenai. "I don't care. I don't give a damn and I don't want to listen to any other pathetic excuse she can come up with. When you're done baby-sitting her, try to get a child of your own before you hit the menopause."

"Now that's just rude," Kurenai shot back.

"Naruko-san, pl-please…"

"No, no, and a thousand times no," Naruko hissed. "I wouldn't care even if you came walking on beans and whipping yourself. You're distracting me from watching the battles, so _get the hell out of my personal space._"

Hinata retreated, her gaze downcast. Naruko returned to the battles…and realized she had missed the one in which the giant fan-girl…

"She's a giant fan-girl," Naruko mumbled. "No! The puns…I missed all those delicious puns…" wringing her hands in the air, Naruko sighed. "I just hope my turn comes soon."

It wasn't difficult to follow Shinku's trail. Sasuke really had no troubles, especially because the boy predictably came across a dead end. It was a large room filled with pillars, from where a light shone down from the open ceiling.

Shinku stopped in that room, his shoulders trembling and moving up and down heavily. Naruko, predictably, charged ahead with her usual bluntness.

"Shin-chan!" the boy's shoulders froze, as a hand went to his forehead and through his hair.

"Ohi, Shin-chan! I'm talking to you!"

"Y-Yeah?"

"What was that all about!?" Naruko yelled. "I mean! You were like… 'please don't hit me' and then you went all 'I'm gutting you!' so…" her eyes softened, "Are you all right?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, as he stepped closer. He still didn't say anything.

"I'm…fine, really," Shinku mumbled. He smiled awkwardly, "There's nothing… wrong…"

The fist on the side of the face hurt. Naruko gripped him by the jacket. "Then why are you scared, Shin-chan? I hate liars, and I hate people who lie to themselves even more!" she then head-butted him —as if the punch wasn't enough.

"Ouch!" Shinku winced from the blow.

"What's wrong?" Naruko asked again. "You don't answer, I can play the head-butt game for a long time."

"Trust me," Sasuke commented. "She's a Kage-Bunshin, but she still can deliver quite a few head-butts before popping…and then Naruko would just send another."

"It's…It's…I can deal with it on my own, there's—"

Sasuke winced. "That's a wrong answer."

Naruko slammed her head against Shinku's once more. "Stupid idiot! We're a team! We solve problems together! Out with it, now!"

"I fear for whoever marries her," Sasuke mumbled. "She'd be the most violent wife ever."

"You said something, Mister 'I'll be an eternal virgin because I want a pure love'?" Naruko's glare silenced Sasuke right up.

"So?" Naruko's eyes settled back on Shinku's own wide and scared ones. "What happened down there? What did Ino do? What did she say that made you go ballistic?"

"I…" Shinku's throat felt parched as he spoke, "I'm not…alone."

"Duh, we're here, I know that," Naruko rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean…I'm not alone…in my head."

"Oh," Naruko blinked. "Uhm…is the voice telling you to kill people? You shouldn't listen unless they're bad people," the girl nodded, "And if it's a giant animal of some sorts, then you really should have told me you were a Jinchuuriki to begin with. I didn't think there was another one, but—"

"Dobe, will you let him explain?" Sasuke sighed. "Come on now, we're not going to bite, Shinku… out with the full story."

Shinku obliged. He spoke hesitantly at first, but then his voice became calmer with each passing word as he ended up spilling the beans.

"It was just meant…to be a way to cope but in the end, I just let him go. I mean, he can do most of the stuff I stumble with, and when things go down, he's there to give me a hand up. I know we're supposed to be the same person but…I can't help but believe he's the better Shinku out of us two. I wouldn't have survived half the stuff I went through without his help."

"Uhm…all right," Naruko shrugged.

That…was…it?

"Eh?"

"All. Right." Naruko replied saying both words very slowly, enunciating them properly. "Really! It's all right Shin-chan! So you get a bit of a stab mania every now and then because of your evil twin personality! I get that!" she chuckled, "Although…" she gripped him by the chin firmly, her eyes narrowing. "You in there, listen well! You make Shin-chan cry and I'll slap you!"

_**We're in the same body. Is she stupid or something?**_

"You think he got the message?" she asked then, "Because I slap really hard, you know?"

"What, your friends get head butts and fists and you slap only your enemies now?" Sasuke drawled out, "There's something wrong with that way of thinking 'light' punishment, Dobe."

Naruko huffed as she let go of Shinku's chin. "Hey now! Fists are for making friends!"

"That works only in bro-mance stories. Like Icha-Icha Tag-Team…which I clearly haven't read."

"Oh, oh, oh," Naruko's lips twitched upwards. "So you did get a peek in!"

"You keep dropping them in my library! With a fake cover!"

Naruko smiled brightly, "Well! I'm off to tell the boss. You all get back soon to watch me kick ass, all right?"

Shinku numbly nodded. In the end, Kakashi was right. They really didn't seem to care. "Uhm…you need something for the headache?" Sasuke asked warily.

He shook his head.

"Good, that's…good."

Then why did he have a feeling things would still change somewhat?

The Kage Bunshin didn't disappear immediately however. She slammed a hand against her head and exclaimed. "I forgot!" with that, she tackled Shinku. "Team Hug!"

"Gaaah!" Shinku warbled out of his mouth just in time before Sasuke groaned, but followed suite. "Let go of meee…"

"There! All better!" Naruko grinned mischievously, stopping the hug first and taking out a Kage-Camera. "Male Yaoi Hug!" there was a snap…and then she disappeared in smoke before Sasuke could properly lunge at her.

Naruko stared at her opponent. With her luck, it had to be Kiba. Fortunately, her clone had just dispersed and everything was going to be fine. She'd just have to make sure Shin-chan didn't go on a stab-mood where he could hurt himself. Really, she was used to having her own moods of the sort. It wouldn't be any different than 'that time of the month' when her father always went fishing somewhere for the entire day.

They'd just send Shin-chan fishing.

"I'm not going to go easy on you cause you're a girl, you know!" Kiba yelled.

"You're done yelling like a moron?" Naruko muttered back, shrugging. "Really, such a lack of grace…who brought this little bitch in here? Shouldn't your owner neuter you if you're in heat, bitchie-chan?"

"I don't understand you at all, Naruko," Kiba snorted. "You weren't like this once."

"Like this how? Beautiful and perfect?" Naruko rolled her eyes. "Grow the hell up Inuzuka," she assumed her fighting stance.

"Akamaru! Let's—"

Naruko's fist slammed straight into the Inuzuka's face, before her entire body spun to deliver a devastating kick to his side and pushing him against the wall from the brunt strength of the impact. "You had all the time to yap nonsense," Naruko muttered. "You should have trained, if you had the time to let your mouth run."

"Argh…this pisses…me…off!" Kiba coughed as he tried to push his body out of the hole in the wall. Naruko didn't give him pause. Her fist slammed into Kiba's stomach with strength, soon followed by another and yet one more. Kiba coughed out blood as Naruko grabbed him by the arm and then threw him in mid-air, before jumping right behind him.

In a moment, she spun on herself while in the air and kicked with the back of her foot the boy's body back on the ground, where it crashed lifting a cloud of dust.

She landed gracefully next to him, dusting her hands off.

Akamaru whined from his spot near Kiba. Naruko snorted. She hadn't given him the time to use his Inuzuka techniques because, really…who would be so _dumb_?

She returned up in the balconies as the winner, holding up a bright smile as both Shin-chan and Uke-chan were there.

"So, you compared sausages while I was gone?" she asked innocently enough.

"No," Sasuke retorted.

"Aw," Naruko pouted.

Shinku remained quiet as the last battles went by.

In the end, there were _eleven_ final contestants.

Naruko Namikaze, who —strangely— ended up with number one. Neji Hyuga, number two. Gaara of the Sand, number three. Sasuke Uchiha was number four. Kankuro was number five. Shino became number six. Temari was number seven. Kabuto Yakushi —who had passed by the grace of not having fought anyone, since they were an uneven number— was number eight. Shikamaru Nara was number nine. Number Ten was a mist Genin by the name of 'Chojuro'. As luck would have it…Shinku Haruno was number eleven.

It actually was luck, because it meant —judging by the chart— that he wouldn't fight until the second round.

The more…the more time passed, the more he became sure.

That chocolate had to have brought him all the worse luck in the world and now that he was rid of it…everything was going to be fine.

**Author's notes**

**Why did I skip through the battles? Because…they're so tritely done every time…I mean, if it were anything new, I'd be the first but…what was important to be shown wasn't simply the result with Inner or the post-forest, but also to make it even clearer that Naruko and Sasuke are outright monsters. They're like, the God-like variant written down. And they also have their extremely disturbing problems to cope with. **

**And yes, Chocolate is the source of all evil in the world. It tempts you with such deliciousness…but it is evil, evil I tell you!**


	43. The Luck Shall Not Last

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Three

Inoichi sighed. "I can't work on him, Hokage-sama. There is a conflict of interest," the man stated.

"Still," Minato pressed, "You are the best one in your field, Inoichi. I mean, it's either you or Ibiki, and I'm wary on using Ibiki after how he treated Anko's…problems."

Inoichi grimaced. "I can certainly hold my judgment impartial, Hokage-sama, but the fact is…my office, and house and hobby are all in the same building. There's the risk of him meeting with my daughter, and after what happened in the preliminaries…"

"You watched the registrations, right?" Minato asked with his eyes calm and controlled. "There's the risk of him being a problem further down the road if it isn't nicked in the bud."

"Why not Anko?" Inoichi suggested. "Her methods are milder than Ibiki's…"

Minato gazed at him as if he had grown a second head. "If I knew Kakashi wouldn't meddle…as it is, you are the best shot I have. Think of it as me asking you a personal favour, Inoichi."

Inoichi looked back at the Yondaime and sighed once more. "Fine, but we'll have to meet in the Torture and Interrogation Department."

Minato grimaced. "There are a lot of free rooms in the Hokage tower."

"Not enough to ensure privacy —especially not from a certain teammate of his who knows this place like the back of her hands."

Minato nodded. "I'll tell him to meet with you on a daily basis."

"Daily?"

"It is better to nick it in the bud, Inoichi," Minato replied. "I'll consider it a B-rank mid-range pay."

"Don't be preposterous, Minato. I'll just leave the hobby of being a shopkeeper on the backburner for a while. I'm doing this as a favour for a friend," he exhaled a long breath. "I wonder what made our daughters fight each other so much."

"Yeah…" Minato closed his eyes. "On one side, I'm glad the fame and the renown didn't get to her head but…on the other, I'd like her to have more friends. While her friendship with Sasuke and Kushina with Mikoto's aided enormously…I can't help but feel the Hyuga clan is growing progressively distant."

"Konoha is living its longest term of peace ever, Hokage-sama," Inoichi said with his lips twitching up, "Nobody would be so stupid as to try to kindle old rivalries."

Minato grumbled. "I hope so…"

The Hokage gazed outside to the bright and sunny day ahead of him…that he wouldn't partake in, because paperwork would kill him, if he didn't kill it first.

Shinku Haruno had a date.

Shinku Haruno _was_ on a date. It was a normal, average, walk around Konoha for some sightseeing, some shop gazing, and a few random talks about long and short-range weaponry. He had been a ball of nervousness at first, but apparently holding hands was all that he needed to do for an 'afternoon walk' to turn into a 'date'.

The lack of planning wasn't a problem. Konoha was a big village built on concentric large roads intersected by two main roads that were in a cross-pattern. The simple act of strolling ensured more than enough 'sights'.

"What's that?" Fu asked, twitching her nose while making a beeline —pulling him along— towards yet another shop's glass window.

"That's a café…don't put your face against the glass," he added hastily. "Do you want to go in? My treat."

Fu blinked, before nodding with a bright smile.

They stepped inside; taking one of the tables close to the same glass window Fu had nearly stuck her face through, the waiter took a moment to deliver the menu before leaving once more, giving them the time to decide. Shinku flipped a page, cautiously looking at the prices and exhaling in relief. Unless Fu ordered one of everything, and then made it double at that, he should be able to pay.

Tazuna's blood money had a use.

He swatted away the dark thought. He was on a date, Fu was enjoying herself, he was enjoying himself. There was no need to bring Tazuna into this. There was no need to bring the shattered hopes of an entire village to the front of his mind.

There, his brain had done it again.

He ground his teeth lightly.

Fu giggled.

"Is there something funny?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You always look like you're about to kill someone whenever you think really hard," Fu replied with her usual bubbly smile.

"And how is that a funny thing?"

"Because it's different from your usual face…normally, you look like you're pretty harmless," Fu smiled even brighter. Shinku chuckled.

"Different from my usual face?" he asked, his voice growing soft.

"Uh-uh," Fu nodded. "Most of the time, you look like you wouldn't hurt a fly. Then something happens and you have to protect your teammates and such and bam, you become a hero!"

"A…hero?"

"Uh-Uh," Fu nodded stronger. "You came to save me up in Taki. Not even Shibuki-san went against the elders when they closed me in there. It takes a hero to go against the big bad, isn't that right?"

"I'm…I'm not a hero, really."

Fu huffed, before giving a quiet nod. "For me, you are."

She blushed lightly after those whispered words. Shinku's eyes returned to the menu. Well, it was more of a matter of taking something to drink and…he felt something sting him in the back of the neck.

For some reason, his ears twitched as his hand went to grab the stinging object.

He inclined his neck to the side. There was a small rubber sphere the size of a pea in his hand.

"The Lovers' specialty," the waiter said, returning with a sleazy grin that felt all too familiar to his eyes. "With the homages of the house for being such a cute couple!"

Shinku would have slammed his head against the table.

The giant cup of vanilla and strawberry was apparently meant to be eaten with a single spoon…shared between the two.

The waiter then made a small bow and went back in the kitchens. Shinku had no doubts the man would soon 'pop' in smoke.

His eyes looking around frantically for the hiding spot of his teammates —he doubted where Naruko went Sasuke would be too far— he missed the incoming projectile until it was too late.

"Ahnnn…"

"Gulp."

Fu giggled. "It's funny!"

Shinku swallowed slowly, his eyes back on Fu.

"My turn now!" Fu exclaimed, handing over the spoon.

This wasn't happening. Well, it was. How difficult could…

What was he doing? This…This sappy…

"Ah-gnam."

Maybe he had died, and this was heaven. It was an awkward heaven where strange things happened, but still a heaven of sorts.

A few tables away, Sasuke stood with his Mangekyou sharingan spinning beneath a pair of thick sun-glasses. "Exactly, exactly…why can't my fan-girls get the message? That's beautiful…" he wiped away a tear, "Shinku, you lucky dog…"

He was wearing a large fedora hat and a heavy beige trench coat.

Naruko lecherously gazed with a snicker of her own, holding up a newspaper to cover her body except for two holes from which she looked forth.

"Yes, yes…come on Shin-chan…fall into the dark side…"

The door of the café opened.

"Shit," Naruko mouthed into her small radio near her neckline. "Alert code Silver. I repeat, to all clones, alert code Silver."

A couple of pretty girls passed by the table, but a sudden wall of waiters going in the opposite direction hindered the view. Naruko sighed in relief. "All right, no eye-wandering for you Shin-chan."

"I think that was a bit excessive," Sasuke snorted. "Shinku's not the type to let his eyes wander…"

"Yeah, because the Oiroke no Jutsu doesn't work at all with men," Naruko snorted. "Do me a favour Sasuke… and stop living in fantasy land. All men peep. Some do it with more class than others do, but they all look. I do too."

Sasuke sputtered. "That's preposterous…"

Naruko gazed back at the table of her targets.

"Shit. They're gone!" she stood up, "All clones! Assemble!"

The waiter force popped into smoke a moment later. "Let's go Uke-chan! All who said first dates can't end in glory clearly didn't have the sexy and beautiful angel Naruko-chan to help!"

"I don't know what's more troubling," Sasuke remarked. "You stalking them or you wanting them to end up the date 'in glory'."

Naruko looked back at Sasuke. "What? Every first date that ends well must end with a kiss, right?"

Sasuke gargled out incomprehensible curses towards Jiraiya.

Naruko just smirked —pitiful fool of an Uchiha, underestimating her powers.

"I'm full," Fu whined, sliding down on the nearest bench. The park in the afternoon had the laughter of kids in the background, of their mothers keeping an eye out for them, and of a few couples doing precisely the same things he and Fu were doing.

Namely put, resting on a bench in the middle of the park.

Shinku's eyes remained close. He was probably overly paranoid. There was no reason for Naruko, or Sasuke, to follow him through his date. They were probably training for the upcoming tournament. He hadn't yet heard a peep from Kakashi however, and that was both a good and a bad thing.

It was good, because it meant he had the time to go on a date. It was bad, because it gave more time for Kakashi to plan his training.

Fu's head slowly came to rest on his shoulder, as her breathing evened out. The girl had fallen asleep. She didn't appear to have the 'endless' amount of energy of Naruko —thankfully— but whenever she was awake she always did smile and jump around like an over reactive squirrel.

He carefully brought his right arm around her shoulders.

"Eh eh."

His ears twitched.

He had _heard_ that.

He moved a tuft of hair from Fu's forehead to the side, behind her ear.

"Oh…oh…"

Yes, he had heard that too.

He calmly neared his lips to Fu's…

"Bit more…come on…come on…"

Then he separated, without doing absolutely nothing.

"OHI!" Naruko emerged suddenly from a sandcastle two children had been building in front of the bench. The two kids screamed in fear as they ran away, while Fu jumped up flustered, grabbing a hold of Shinku's neck and then looking around frantically for the source of the screaming.

"I'm trying to write a story here!" Naruko yelled, brush and parchment in hand. "Would it kill you to man up, Shin-chan!?"

Sasuke snorted from his hiding spot. He gave points to Shinku.

"Na-chan?" Fu blinked. "Why are you covered in sand?"

Naruko blinked, and then dusted herself off. "Nothing! Taking a walk on the beach."

"That's a sand square, not a beach," Shinku remarked dryly. "Where's Sasuke?"

Sasuke stiffened. Naruko wouldn't sell him out.

She wouldn't do something like that to…

"The Uke-chan's keeping an eye out from that tree over there," Naruko shrugged.

Sasuke flickered down, slamming a fist into Naruko's head. "We decided it was each stalker for himself if they caught one of us!"

Naruko sniffled. "B-But Shin-chan's such a tease! He…He…He was about to kiss Fu-chan and then he pulled back! It's unfair!"

Fu's hold on Shinku's neck tightened a bit.

"You don't kiss people in public," Shinku muttered back, "There's a law about decency…which you always forget."

"Point for Shinku," Sasuke piped suddenly, as if remembering the Konoha Law Code only then. "Oh Kami, there's a law against stalking too…and we infringed it," Sasuke grabbed on to Shinku's jacket. "Please don't tell anyone! I can't become a police officer with a blotch on the record like this one!"

"All…right?" awkwardly, Shinku watched Sasuke's face clear up. He had a surprisingly 'heated' side too apparently.

"Good, we'll take our leave."

Grabbing Naruko firmly, he began to pull her away. "Naruko! How could you follow our wonderful teammate and his pure budding love trying to fan it towards the shores of depravity! I am ashamed…"

Naruko whined as Sasuke carried her away. "Remember to use protection!"

"There are kids in the park, Naruko!" Sasuke's yell drowned the rest.

Shinku chuckled nervously.

"I'm sorry."

Fu shook her head, "it was funny," she muttered, resting her head once more against his shoulder. The problem this time was that she was on his lap to begin with. "I like this."

"Ah…yes?"

"It's…peaceful," she said. A few birds chirped by. "People look happy. It's…nice."

"Konoha is very peaceful," Shinku acquiesced.

Maybe he had forgotten about it, but it was the truth. Konoha was peaceful. The people were happy.

A light soft thing pressed against the base of his chin.

He blinked, before gazing downwards just in time for another…kiss…on…lips?

Fu giggled. "Kissing tastes like ice-cream."

"Yeah," Shinku mumbled. "It does."

That night, Shinku walked back towards his house —after bringing Fu back to her home— like a drunken man. He felt happy. The world was beautiful. Everything was nice.

He went to sleep with a bright smile on his face and a delighted expression.

The next morning, he received a notification to head towards the Hokage tower.

Once, he probably would have been nervous as hell but now… now he felt like he could take on anything and anyone. Did he already claim the world was beautiful? Yes! The world was beautiful!

The smile on his lips remained etched on his face until he found himself waiting outside the Hokage's office. There, it slowly settled down to a simple upward line and a small humming sound.

"Haruno?" the Hokage's secretary remarked from her spot, "The Hokage will see you now."

"H-Hai," with a nod, he knocked at the door while heading inside. Swallowing his nervousness, he took a few more steps forward. In the end, he stopped in front of the Hokage.

"Now, no need to be so formal," Minato smiled. Shinku nervously swallowed once more. "You aren't in trouble. This concerns your preparation for the incoming tournament. Due to the status of high alert Konoha is currently in, with the risk of Orochimaru targeting the finals…I have to ensure each member of my daughter's team is free from outside influences."

Shinku didn't speak, and so the Hokage continued.

"You will spend the mornings in the torture and interrogation department with Inoichi, both as a way to continue your therapy," Shinku winced, "And also as a way to ensure Orochimaru didn't manage to take over. Has Kakashi spoken with you yet?"

Shinku shook his head.

"Well, I cannot in good conscience condone what he trained you up to become but, at this point, it is imperative we get your particular situation under control."

"P-Particular?"

Minato exhaled. "Shinobi have quirks. It's normal, it's understandable. Our jobs are stress-filled and you aren't the only one who went through this. It's always more difficult with shinobi from civilian families, but not particularly so. As long as you follow Konoha's laws you will find many won't care if you have…well, another personality."

"Ah…I…I see…"

"We have agreed you will have another teacher for the month ahead. His name is Ebisu. He specializes on one on one teaching, and I'm sure you'll get along very well. You'll meet him this afternoon after you're done in the Torture and Interrogation." Furthermore, Ebisu had all but pleaded him to give him some respite from his usual student's 'energetic behaviour'.

"I understand," Shinku nodded.

"I'm sorry about wasting away your mornings in such a grim way," Minato smiled awkwardly. "Won't give you much time to spend with your sweetheart, I suppose. Then again, she and Naruko will be busy with their own Bijuu training so…"

Shinku turned crimson, just like his name.

"By the way, due to their lack of shinobi, Takigakure has asked Konoha to provide with a few Chuunin both to patrol their lands and to teach their next generation," Minato added. "If you need any motivation to work extra hard, I might just slip your name in the batch to send to Taki at the end of the tournament period."

"H-Hai!"

"Very well," Minato smiled. "You're dismissed."

He saluted, turned and walked out.

The Torture and Interrogation Department of Konoha was two things: surprisingly easy to find, and strangely filled with soothing pastel colours. At least, the entrance was. The receptionist gave him a curt nod, before handing over a non-disclosure agreement concerning anything he might see or hear or realize or ponder…or pretty much anything else within the walls.

The room 'assigned' to him was just a few corridors away from the entrance, not even a single level down. It was a perfect replica of Inoichi's office, barring the windows and with a pale white neon light on the ceiling. "This is just one of the unused rooms we use as storage," Inoichi's voice was smooth as he gestured for Shinku to sit. "I'll ask you a few questions before we can proceed with your visit."

Shinku nodded.

"You were born the twenty-eight of March. Correct?"

Shinku nodded.

"Your parents are Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, correct?"

He nodded once more.

"You are an only child?"

The questions were easy to answer, but he supposed an infiltrator wouldn't know half of them.

"You once had a dog named Skippy, correct?"

Shinku blinked, and then shook his head. "No, no…animals."

Inoichi nodded. "All right, now you're in the clear. Normally this routine activity would be done by a rookie, but I'm also in charge with your therapy and so we're killing two pigeons with one stone throw."

Inoichi grabbed a notepad and a pen, letting his shoulders rest against his own chair. "Tell me something about yourself."

"My name…is Shinku?"

"Continue," Inoichi said.

"I'm thirteen years old and a half?"

Inoichi began to scribble.

_**Looks for confirmation before continuing his sentences. Insecure. Socially stunted. **_

Shinku flinched at the words of Inner.

"Relax, nobody here will judge you or anything you have done," Inoichi continued speaking with his soft voice, "Simply let your thoughts out."

"I like to bake bread, but I dislike when…when it comes out burnt. I can…make cakes, and sometimes I manage eggs."

_**Has to be continuously pressured into talking.**_

"…I like to read, but I stopped recently because I don't have any time…"

_**Escapes from reality.**_

"Th-The D-ranks missions I went on are…"

_**Stammers at the mention of missions.**_

"Kakashi-sensei…"

_**Calls that man 'sensei'.**_

_Now you're the one adding that!_

Inoichi stopped scribbling.

His eyes settled on the glazed over look of the boy.

_**Let me do the talking. This is getting boring. What does he want, the story of our entire life?**_

"Am I scaring you?" Inoichi asked quietly. "Are you afraid?"

"It's the Torture and Interrogation Department. Who wouldn't be afraid?" Shinku retorted. "I mean, it's a pretty scary place, isn't it?"

Inoichi scribbled, and Inner spoke through Shinku's mouth. "Yeah, yeah let me guess what you're writing down now: the other personality emerged the more uncomfortable and insecure the original one felt. It is a clear sign of trying to cope with some stressful event without aid. He appears to arrogantly assume knowing that anything I write down is easily predictable, and thus will –flower, parrot, card game," Inner's eyes narrowed as Inoichi began to scribble, "the other personality demonstrates a keen intellect –thank you- and appears to enjoy acting like an over glorified baby-sitter? Are you trying to rile me up, doctor?"

Inoichi stopped scribbling, and settled down the bloc notes and the pen. "How?"

"Super-powers, you know…like heroes," Shinku snorted. "It's in the academy curriculum. Well, not precisely…it's in the 'cheat to pass the test' section of the student code. The trick is in mentally following and reversing the movements of the top of the pen. A lot of people use them as if they were brushes, so by simply inverting the movements and picturing the kanji in your head, it is easy…and Shinku helps by keeping them memorized."

"And what if I told you that you're wrong, and nothing you said was actually written on the bloc-notes?" Inoichi remarked, turning and handing over to Shinku a glorified…drawing of a few flowers.

"I'd say it's a code. 'Say it with flowers'."

"On that, we can both agree," Inoichi nodded. "But as you see, you were wrong."

"That depends. Was my plan to be proven right, or was it a way to make you stop scribbling?" Shinku inclined his head to the side. "You are not scribbling right now, are you?"

Inoichi clicked his tongue. "You are confrontational, your other self—"

"No 'other-self' crap here," Shinku snorted. "We're the same person. I'm just the executioner."

"You act, think and talk differently from the other dominant personality. Hence you are another personality." Inoichi stressed out.

"You act differently from the Yondaime, or from the woman at the reception. That doesn't stop you from being human, and it doesn't stop you from being a shinobi. We are Shinku."

"I wonder, what is your opinion of Kakashi?"

"He's a lazy teacher, but he knows what he's talking about and if you survive…yes, he undoubtedly is a good teacher."

"Uzuki-san?"

"She's sort of like a hen, an overbearing hen."

"Your teammates?"

"They're…friends," he stated.

"You hesitated."

Shinku shrugged. "I thought you would ask me about my parents next."

"What's your relationship with them?"

"I love my parents very much," he replied with a small tight smile.

Inoichi exhaled. He wouldn't get anything more out of him.

"What do you think about cutting this first day short?"

"Excellent idea," Shinku nodded. "So I can leave?"

This time, Inoichi was the one to nod.

Taking the cue, Shinku was out of the department in less than a few minutes. A sun-glass wearing man with a lean build and wearing a long monochrome jogging suit waited outside, holding on a smirk. "You must be Haruno Shinku."

"You are Ebisu-san?"

"Please, call me Ebisu-sensei."

Shinku blinked once, before nodding awkwardly and making a bow. "I will be in your care, Ebisu-sensei."

Unseen by him, Ebisu actually held a fist up in the air while tears streaked down his eyes. Finally! After months and months of Konohamaru's insolence, he had one month of training with a polite Genin! He knew the Hokage was a merciful man! It would be a nice way to wind down. Not that he expected anything from the boy —he wasn't from any important shinobi family, and really, he was a trainer of _Elite_ shinobi and not common rabble.

"Very well," with a nod, Ebisu began to walk towards their training area for the afternoon.

"I generally train my students in a roundabout way," Ebisu began to speak, "In what areas do you think yourself lacking, Haruno-kun?"

Shinku looked up at the sky. "All of them?"

"The motto of the Chuunin corps is 'If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages.' Once you have both, any mission can be completed successfully," Ebisu's lips twitched upwards. "What area do you think we should work the most, Haruno-kun? Heaven or Earth?"

"Earth," he muttered. "My chakra reserves are pitiful."

"Then on Earth we shall work. You will need a diet of high proteins and carbohydrates, with a lot of physical training to go with it," Ebisu nodded every now and then, as he spoke, as if he really liked the sound of his voice. "I will also teach you how to correctly utilize it."

He supposed the boy could learn that much in a month. He had given a look at the battle chart and, judging by the opponents that would fight before him…he would either have to face a Kiri shinobi by the name of Chojuro or the heir of the Nara clan.

Since the Nara was a clan renowned for its brain smarts…training the boy on physical prowess wasn't wrong. Of course, he doubted any member of the Nara clan would lose against a clanless brat, but he'd train him for a month and because of that, his trainer's name was on the line.

He just had to make sure the boy would lose after putting up the toughest of all fights. He'd train him until the point where he'd bleed on the ground…of that, he was going to make sure.

Shinku didn't see the glint in Ebisu's eyes, hidden by the sunglasses.

The training area they reached…was apparently the hot springs. Ebisu didn't waste time, immediately walking over the water's hot surface. Shinku hesitantly followed.

"Assume a fighting stance," Ebisu remarked. "We will at first spar."

Shinku obeyed, holding his eyes on Ebisu's f—

A fist connected with his stomach, forcing him to jump backwards. It didn't hurt like when Kakashi had done it through the Genjutsu, and it wasn't as strong as the attacks from Suien or the Sound shinobi. "I was told you can withstand significant amounts of corporal damage," Ebisu said. "Did this attack hurt you, just now?"

Shinku shook his head.

The next moment, a kick got him in the sides just below his ribs. His eyes widened from the pain as he opened his mouth to cough out. Clutching his sides, he remembered too late he was on the water.

The water wasn't warm. The water was scorching hot. He gagged, gasping for air as he emerged and began to flail around. His jacket's weighted him down but with effort, he managed to reach the shore and climb back up.

"Now I understand the strange resistance," Ebisu stated plainly, opening and closing the palm of his hand. "It is not a bad idea, however I suggest removing it during this particular type of sparring. If that was your reaction to an attack near your kidneys…I highly recommend coming back here chest-naked."

Shinku neatly folded his now wet clothes on the ground, before returning on the pool's water.

The breeze picked up.

His luck finished.

The next attack came with him prepared to parry it, but all he earned was to slide on the water's surface and end up crashing with his bare back against the rocky side of the pool. He pulled himself off, but Ebisu came at him with a fist to the right side of his face.

Shinku spat blood, but remained afloat.

"Now, attack back," Ebisu stated plainly. "It is my understanding you cannot initiate a spar for fear of harming your opponent," the man said, "Well, let me be extremely clear: I am an Elite shinobi trainer. I cannot be hit by the likes of you and I have successfully gauged your physical level already."

Shinku breathed slowly, before pulling his right fist back and then forward towards him. Ebisu attacked right away, passing straight in the middle of Shinku's defence and bringing against the boy's face a fist. Shinku ducked.

The knee came up and the result was the same.

Shinku's eyes closed from the pain, but Ebisu's hands gripped the back of the boy's head and pushed it right back for a _second_ knee hit.

His head ringing, Shinku's vision turned murky with blood and tears as he fell in the water.

"Your…pitiful," he barely heard as his body fell through the water. "Waste…"

Why wasn't Inner intervening?

Oh, right. There wasn't a risk of dying. This was just like the sparring of the academy. Nothing…changed…in the end…

He woke up to a cold shower of icy water.

"We are not done for today's training," Ebisu remarked. "Begin doing push-ups."

Shinku's head hurt him, but he managed to turn his body to the side and tremble his way up to his knees.

Ebisu watched silently. He couldn't train the honourable grandson of the Sandaime with the whip and the heavy fist he normally used for the other shinobi, but the boy was different. For one thing, he was clanless and secondly he had the _honour_ of training under him. Ebisu had a _lot_ of frustration to get out of his system, and he had an entire month to do so.

When the night finally arrived, Ebisu dismissed him until tomorrow. He coughed lightly as he made his way home. It was the first time he returned with bruises actually. Usually the wounds were so grave he went to the hospital to get them patched up, but with the attacks he had suffered…there simply wasn't a need.

He collapsed from fatigue on the bed.

The morning came excessively soon the next day, and with his muscles aching a lot, once more, the cycle began anew.

A week later, Inoichi exhaled as he delivered his report to the Hokage.

"Shinku has decided I am an 'enemy', Hokage-sama. As such, I no longer deal with the 'Outer' persona, but with his 'Inner' whenever he steps inside. It doesn't help. I didn't think it would take so little to antagonize him, or maybe the place made him nervous…it's like trying to deal with a porcupine enclosed in its ball. I'm afraid there's little I can do but smooth out his stingers." Minato gazed at Inoichi for a moment more, before closing his eyes and giving a quiet nod.

"It isn't easy, and pressuring someone to heal won't simply make him heal faster," Inoichi continued. "Once a month was probably for the best…"

"I wonder if I shouldn't simply tell him," Minato mumbled.

"Hokage-sama?"

"I'd be doing Kakashi's game if I did that," Minato sighed. "I know he was patiently waiting all this time for someone, but really…of all possible people."

"I'm afraid I do not understand the context, Hokage-sama," Inoichi remarked.

"Kakashi's the most loyal shinobi of the entire force, Inoichi. I'd wager my own life on it. If I hadn't relegated him to patrolling, he'd probably be pleading me to train the boy. Kakashi wants to leave a legacy to Konoha, Inoichi. He's chosen Shinku, apparently."

"Why?"

"I don't know," the Yondaime reclined his head backwards. "That's probably what scares me."

"Still, if I may ask, what is it that Shinku hasn't been told?"

Minato smiled bitterly. "He doesn't need to participate in the exams any further to become a Chuunin, Inoichi. Have you read the reports of his missions? Power-wise, both Naruko and Sasuke could give a run to any Chuunin or even Jounin, while Shinku would probably be beaten by the lowest of them…but on the other hand, he is a mature and bloodied shinobi who knows what is important on the battlefield and for Konoha. Kakashi didn't cuddle him, if anything…he probably broke him beyond repair, but at the same time he made him into a shinobi in little time."

Inoichi frowned. "I think the main problem with Haruno is that he has little to no trust in himself and his skills. Creating an imaginary friend, one stronger and smarter, is generally a mean for isolated children to cope with loneliness and stress. The split personality on the other hand is a disorder that manifests when highly traumatic events bring forth a detachment of memories. This hasn't happened yet. The Personalities, 'Inner' and 'Outer' _share_ the same memories and remember the same things. They _interact_ with one another."

"I didn't think anyone could feel lonely with Naruko in his team," Minato replied.

"It isn't as simple as that, Hokage-sama. Many can perceive loneliness differently. Similarly, 'friendships' are viewed differently depending on the person. For some people, friendships are born within days and last but a summer, for others they are life-long but slow to bud. I do not doubt Outer's consideration of his teammates as friends, but Inner _refused_ to answer. 'Outer' waits for others to tell him what to do, so that he can please them and find a place as a team player. 'Inner' acts for his interests and shows no concern for the others. I dealt mainly with Inner this week, and I can state that his highest aspiration is to remain _alone_ and _safe_. He isn't an aggressor, but a defender. A territorial bear, so to speak. That, mostly, scares me."

"Why?"

"Because it means it wasn't Inner that tried to kill my daughter. If we consider Shinku a shinobi, then 'Outer' is the voice, 'Inner' is the armour, but…_someone_ has to be the kunai."

"Couldn't it simply be both of them?"

"It is a possibility," Inoichi acquiesced, "Or maybe there's a third personality forming, splitting off like a branch from the first two: the one in charge of attacking. I also spoke with my daughter. She wasn't much off with her words actually…there are two _minds_ inside of Shinku Haruno. The problem is…what if they form a split-personality?"

"What can you do?"

"It's too late to suppress one of the two. I cannot discern which the real one between the two is, and anyway, it is probable they _both_ are 'Shinku'. He wouldn't be able to function without both. Erasing the memory is out of question. The only thing I can suggest is to lay him off for a week. He needs time to recoup from the traumas suffered, to enjoy his hobbies and so on."

"He's three weeks away from the tournament," Minato stated plainly.

"You know, Hokage-sama…I have to ask," Inoichi said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why are _you_ personally taking charge of it?"

Minato gazed long and hard at Inoichi, before replying. "It's classified information."

Also known as 'Naruko found my Icha-Icha stash, the one not even my wife knows I have and that if discovered will land me on the couch for the following months, hence she wiggled out an accord to make sure Shin-chan would be fine for the tournament, because he looked kind of down the last time they saw each other'.

"No, what I meant was…are his parents informed? They're both living, right?"

"I didn't see the need," Minato remarked. Inoichi stared.

Minato squirmed.

"You do understand that telling me from the get-go that he might have had 'family' issues would have been for the best?"

"Yes, but they are ininf—"

"I'll be the judge of that, Hokage-sama," Inoichi remarked. "I'll require their reports."

"Very well," Minato nodded. He sighed as he watched Inoichi leave. He spun his chair around, gazing at the vast extension of rooftops that was Konoha. It was truly a sad system…the shinobi one, when even kids had to kill their hearts.

Shinku gazed at the clouds in the darkening sky. Ebisu had left after the daily spar or beat down, followed by the excruciating agony of exercising with his body bruised. He closed his eyes, ignoring the cold of the water on his skin or the sensation of hunger in his stomach. He couldn't claim the man a bad teacher, no differently than he could claim Kakashi one. Sure, the disgusting protein shakes he had to drink felt horrendous...but it showed the man seemed to care about him improving.

"What now?" he mumbled. "Do we go back?"

"No training a bit more?" he hazarded.

"Training without supervision…soon the hot springs will close…"

"Well, but they're hot springs, why not take a bath?"

He snorted. Bruised as he was, the scorching hot water was the last thing he wanted to feel.

"Oh my," a smooth voice called in the corner of his eyes. "Are you all right?"

Shinku's gaze settled on the glass wearing Genin who wore purple and was among the finalists of the Chuunin exams. What was he doing there?

His hands glowed green softly, "This level of damage…" Kabuto clicked his tongue. "Are you all right, Haruno-san?"

The other Genin knew his surname? Really?

"Y-Yeah," he mumbled back.

He could feel his muscles distend as the pain slowly ebbed away. He got up to a sitting position after Kabuto pulled him upwards, before the apparently medic in training Genin began to heal his back too.

"You must be training very hard with your instructor," Kabuto smiled. Shinku nodded numbly.

"Thanks," the boy murmured.

"Oh, it is nothing. I was heading inside the hot springs for a late bath, when I saw your form lying on the ground, thought you might have had a stroke, and required assistance. It is the duty of a medic-nin to help any wounded shinobi of his village after all. Does your head ring?"

Shinku nodded numbly, and soon he found himself with the boy's hands over the side of his face. "The head is one of the weakest points in a human body. Every other spot is trainable to resist impact except for the head. The eardrums are in particular nasty, because when you're hit on the side of your face, you lose coordination and balance."

With the bruises gone, Shinku felt reborn enough to wobble on to his feet.

"Thank y-you," he stammered out, making a bowing gesture, "I'm in your debt."

"As I said before, I'm training to become a medic-nin. It is our duty to help out," Kabuto replied.

The boy then turned, "Well, if you'll excuse me I better go before the hot springs closes on me."

Shinku faltered for a moment, before hastily exclaiming. "W-Wait," he stammered. "I'm...coming too."

He began to walk alongside the older Genin. "I…I had some questions…"

Kabuto smiled.

He knew he was acting while completely ignoring Orochimaru's orders…but he wasn't stupid. There was no way he'd try to kidnap Sasuke Uchiha.

For one thing, he didn't even know where they had brought him to train.

For another, he supposed he could settle for the only teammate he could get his hands on.

**Author's notes**

**Finally the good and light side is over. Finally. I was starting to get cranky, and my eyes were all twitchy. Things are going down, oh if they're going down…finally…ah…breath in…breath out…good, good.**


	44. Every Little Bit Helps

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Four

"It takes months of training to reach the point where chakra can be used to heal human skin," Kabuto spoke with a clear and vivid voice, as if the argument interested him a lot. "It is a rewarding feat, but not for everyone. Medic-Nin training is tough, tougher than any other and the exams…you can't make any mistakes. You have to memorize every little nerve and bone, because when you're rebuilding a body you can't allow mistakes."

Taking dinner together at a nearby Yakiniku hadn't been difficult to propose. "It's actually a matter of Yin chakra, and strange as it might seem self-operating comes off easier than operating on someone else. You don't have to go against their chakra flow, and you don't have to force the chakra out of your body through your hands."

Shinku nodded —he understood less than nothing, but he let the boy speak.

"I'm pretty boring, ain't I?" Kabuto asked suddenly, his face sporting a small awry smile. "It seems all I can do is speaking about medical ninjutsu."

Shinku shook his head firmly, "No, no…It's interesting. I can't count the number of times I was wounded and alone. If I had known there was a way to—"

"Ah, be careful Haruno-san. I'm speaking as a medic-nin in training for years now, and my father's the chief doctor at the hospital of Konoha. I practically grew up in the medical field. There isn't any shinobi who can improvise medical treatment with Yin chakra on the fly. It's simply not possible," Kabuto shook his head. "Although there are ways to reinforce with chakra a particular area in order to not sustain damage…"

That was as Yugao-sensei had said, when showing him how to 'destroy' a wooden pole.

"Using one's own body Yin chakra for healing is quite an advanced feat. It is also not practiced, because all medical textbooks always imply the user to be another, hence one has to imagine the entire healing process as if he was watching a mirror."

Shinku blinked. "That's…pretty hard."

"Indeed," Kabuto smiled. "But I'm sure you didn't just want to talk about medical techniques."

"Ah, yes…" Shinku awkwardly fidgeted for a moment, "I wanted to know if you ever reached the finals before…and what to expect of the tournament. That is if you can tell me…"

"Oh, of course," Kabuto shrugged. "I did reach the tournament once, but I unfortunately didn't please the judges enough and so I remained a Genin. What's important isn't to win the battles," he added, "But to demonstrate a calm and controlled personality, as well as a roundabout versatility. Generally, showing off an elemental technique or two is also a big bonus."

Shinku grimaced.

"Your teacher didn't teach you any fire technique? They're the most common around Konoha. We're the Land of Fire for a reason, after all."

"No, I'm receiving training to increase my strength and chakra capacity," he mumbled. "Fire techniques aren't in the deal."

"What about Genjutsu?"

"Ah…I think I can dispel illusions now," he awkwardly smiled.

Calmly, Kabuto extracted a deck of cards. He poured some chakra into one of them, before handing it over. The name and surname 'Shikamaru Nara' followed by a brief description of his clan, and what he could do, popped up. "I have access to the medical records of Konoha's hospital," apparently, Shikamaru had broken his left ankle when he had been very little. "And then I add in any type of technique I can discover concerning my opponent, so that I can prepare myself against them."

"If you lack Heaven, be prepared," Shinku mumbled. "If you lack Earth, take the advantage."

"Indeed. I couldn't collect much about 'Chojuro', but this," another card popped up, "Is what I have."

Chojuro was a Kirigakure shinobi from Mist, apparently versed in Kenjutsu and with a severe need of…glasses? His signatures moves included the Kirigakure's trademark technique of hiding in the mist and other water releases.

"So," Shinku mumbled. "One of these two will be my opponent for my match."

"If you're lucky," Kabuto replied, "You'll fight the Nara," he tapped on Shikamaru's card. "The Nara clan prizes himself for being a wise and intelligent clan, but they have easy to avoid techniques related to the shadows, and the tournament area will be out in the open. A strategy I personally devised against him involves charging straight ahead from the get-go, before he can complete the hand-seal for the shadow techniques."

Shinku nodded, "The problem would be this 'Chojuro' then, there's little to nothing on him."

"And in one month," Kabuto remarked, "Things are bound to change anyway."

Talking with the older Genin turned easier by the second. Shinku had little doubt he'd be actually fighting the boy —really, with the luck he had he'd face off this Chojuro and lose in a painful way. He had accepted that his fight would be a losing one, but as long as he gave his best, he might just get his promotion.

He now had freer mornings too —much to Inner's enjoyment.

"Uhm," Kabuto remarked at the end of the dinner. "If you want, I might have something that could help you out. Are you free tomorrow morning?"

Shinku smiled. Maybe his luck was returning after all…

The next morning, he found himself walking alongside Kabuto in the artisan district. "I admit I was curious at first with the strange…way of your vest, but when I realized you had reinforced it with plates I couldn't help but admire your determination. I admit, a little part of me is worried of what you must have gone through, to wear armour even during your daily life."

Shinku embarrassedly looked sideways. "You never know when they're going to strike at you," literally.

"Ah, I understand," Kabuto smiled. If there was one thing Shinku had understood, was that Kabuto _always_ smiled. For every little thing there was, he smiled without fault. It was with a smile that they stepped inside a dingy blacksmith shop that sold various shapes and forms of weaponry.

"Muramase-san is an old friend of my father, and one of the most reticent patients the hospital of Konoha has on a daily basis. He works on chakra triggers tied to weaponry and protective gear."

The heat of the forge in the back made Shinku's skin flush, as the scattered pile of weapons on various benches all looked menacing —neither shiny nor particularly lustrous— and the vibe they emanated was pretty clear. They weren't meant to look pretty, but to do their job. Kunai with slightly prolonged tips curved at the end, kunai swords, pronged kunai, saps and sai, and many more types all stood to attention, like old military glories waiting to receive their medals.

Old shinobi armours hung from the walls, while a few recent ones stood open and cut in pieces, showing their inner chain mails or steel plates. There was apparently more than one model of armour available.

"Well," a burly armed man with quite a few scars over his arms and face remarked from the counter. "It's not my fault the medics fret over any little nick and scar," grumbling, the blacksmith stood. He was a monster of a man, tall at least two metres, bald and with scars covering practically every inch of his skin. His right ear seemed cut off neatly, only a twitching little flesh bit remaining behind. His eyes were dark, and he was wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts.

"Muramase-san, this is my friend, Haruno-kun," Kabuto said with his smile still on his lips. "I thought you might help him."

"Uhm, are those steel plates in your jacket or are you happy to see me, Haruno?" the blacksmith asked with a dry chuckle. The man neared with his eyes inquisitive. "I see, the design is crude and you just held them with steel wire. It has merits…well, merits better than being without, but any shinobi worth his salt could follow the stitching pattern and avoid those areas when attacking. Unless in poor illumination, but I suppose those things clink too…"

Shinku found himself without his jacket the next moment. "Uhm, the idea of putting cloth between the wire and the plate to avoid itching shows at least you gave it some thought. What was it, crude on the field repair?"

"Ah, no," Shinku stammered. "It's…home made."

Muramase laughed, "Why not wear the flak jacket to begin with? I recognize these plates —it's steel and of good quality, you find these in Jounin vests, not in the Chuunin ones. Furthermore, considering their sizes they're meant for field operatives. What happened to the previous one?"

"I couldn't wear a flak jacket for the Chuunin exams," Shinku replied, "so…"

"Now that's an idea, I didn't think of that," Muramase mumbled, "I could sell the concept to the worrywart parents. 'Outfit your kid with reinforced jackets for the Chuunin exams, increase their chances of survival'. Wherever there's the words 'increase' and 'survival' people flock like crazy. Anyway, what's the deal with coming into my humble shop today?"

Kabuto kept up his smile, "Judging by the state, can you repair it?"

"Repair it? Why should I? I mean, if you want kid I can make you a honest price on another Jounin flak jacket. I keep the steel and this 'prototype' as a start and you can repay me back monthly if you want."

"There is still the tournament in little less than a month, Muramase-san," Kabuto replied. "Haruno-san here is participating. He might be going against a Kiri shinobi."

"Oh, those bastards," the blacksmith growled, "I hate their cheap shots, when I was on active duty I had more than one encounter with those sons of…" he grimaced, "This wouldn't help you at all against one. They aim for the unprotected parts. But if you can't wear a flak jacket for the tournament…" he looked at the jacket, "How about a deal?"

Shinku inclined his head to the side, in apparent wait. "I have a few prototypes I need field tested. Normally I hire a group of Genin and have them blow their fingers off," Kabuto's right eye twitched. "Kabuto here is usually one of those I hire," Muramase smiled, "If you help me out until the tournament, testing and whatnot, I'll make you something to keep you safe and that won't look any different from your usual jacket."

Before Shinku could speak, Muramase brought up his right hand, "Wait! I'll also add in, for the sake of clarity, long sleeves."

"I can only come in the mornings," Shinku remarked.

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine! We're up and about at four anyway," Muramase shrugged. "By the way, you're the Haruno's son right?"

Shinku nodded, flustered.

"Good honest folks they are! If you work as hard as they do then there's no need for Kabuto to vouch for you," he winked towards Kabuto, who nervously chuckled. "Well, you take everything you need from the jacket because when I'll be done with it," here the man grinned, "you won't recognize it at all."

He wondered if he should have told the man he had the money to pay for it, but then again the job was probably expensive. How was he going to field test the stuff anyway? It wasn't like he could loan a training ground or some empty…hole…in the…ground.

There _was_ a 'hole in the ground' he could use.

Kakashi-sensei would totally understand.

"Anyway, you need anything else boys?"

"Oh, yes," Kabuto remarked. "I'll be fighting against a long-range specialist who uses wind to swat away light projectiles. Do you have anything that can work against that, Muramase-san?"

"Wind? From Suna maybe?" the blacksmith turned thoughtful. "I could make you some heavy tip kunai, but depending on the strength of her gusts…you'd be better off getting in close and personal. The problem with long-range specialists is always the same —they always believe they can pull off their techniques faster than their enemy can close the distance. Versatility makes the shinobi, not going all-out on a single front."

"Speaks one of the long-range specialists in the flesh?" Kabuto remarked with his lips twitching upwards.

"I've got the scars to prove it, kid," Muramase snorted back, "Half of these? I got them from fast bastards. I was lucky my teammates were faster but on a one on one it's being versatile that keeps your guts in your stomach," the blacksmith nodded.

"I'll remember those words," Kabuto nodded.

"You do that, helmet," the blacksmith replied. "Anyway if she uses wind…how 'long' range is she? Wind does disperse the further away you are…but normally, I'd suggest using a fire technique against her."

"I thought about that too," Kabuto replied, turning thoughtful, "I'll have to polish off my Katon skills."

"I'm sure you'll do your old man proud," Muramase acquiesced. "And maybe, because of me helping you out, you might forget to close the window next time I end up in the hospital?"

"Ahahah, how funny you are Muramase-san," Kabuto smiled with a hand to his mouth, "You are scheduled to come by the next week, yes? I might just tell your doctor to go for a full body check-up..."

"I give, I give," Muramase mumbled. "Take this by heart kid," he whispered towards Shinku. "Don't mess with your health close to a doctor."

The next morning, for maybe the first time in a while, he woke up at the same time of his parents. He cursed as he realized that, standing up from his bed and quickly turning off his alarm watch. He could hear their forms moving about in the kitchen. His body still ached from the afternoon before —the sparring had been as brutal as always— and he wasn't in the mood to tell his parents why he had a broken lip.

He slid open the window of his room, shuddering slightly at the morning breeze. Fully dressed, he jumped out.

At the beginning of his Genin career, he wouldn't have done something like that in a thousand years. Now, he could.

It was a small thing, comparable to when he had nearly slipped on that rainy day before his mission to Taki, but it was a thing. It was something he now _could_ do.

He could avoid his parents by jumping out of the window.

He _was_ avoiding his parents.

Taking to the rooftops wasn't difficult. Nearly colliding against an Anbu five seconds later was a new experience.

"Shinobi identification number please," drawled out the Anbu, his voice bored. "Reason for being out at night?"

Shinku blinked as he fumbled with his pockets. He had his shinobi identification card on him anyway, and as for the reason. "I'm going to work, near the artisan district at Muramase-san's blacksmith…"

The Anbu shrugged, gave a quick check at the registration code and noted it down. "Very well, you may proceed."

Five minutes later, the same thing happened again.

Shinku took to walking on the streets after that.

Security was uptight around the village —he hadn't noticed before, but the number of shinobi patrolling or going around was now noticeable in the early morning..

"Ah, Haruno-kun," he stared blearily at one of the shinobi in patrol, before he put the man into focus.

"Iruka-sensei?"

"Well, I'm no longer a sensei to you now," Iruka chuckled. "You're out training so early?"

"I'm in the finals," he replied with a shrug, "Need to work hard."

He didn't correct the man on his assumption.

"I'm glad," Iruka said, "I'll come to cheer you on."

"Thanks, sensei," there wasn't any heat behind his words .Those were the common words any teacher would exchange with any student.

They were second only to 'I knew you could do it'.

"How's your team treating you? Everything fine?" the man asked.

"Yes," Shinku nodded, "We're all training very hard," at least, he supposed.

"Well, I don't want to hold you up! It's been nice seeing you again."

"Likewise sensei," and with a nod of his head, Shinku was off.

Naruko whined pitifully from her spot in the secret training ground near Konoha. "Unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair! This is unfair!"

Yugao flipped a page of her 'Jounin-sensei for dummies' manual, before giving a condescending smile to the girl.

"You tried to hide something of this importance to me young miss? Do you have any idea what could have happened if Jiraiya hadn't realized your chakra was acting strangely!?" Kushina barked back, holding her position. "You'll stay in the seiza position on beans until I say so, do you understand me!?"

"But mooommm…"

"No! You could have endangered the entire village! This is for your safety as well! What if the seal hadn't been just a simple five point? What if it had disrupted the eight trigram one!?" Kushina sniffled, "You can't act like this!"

Naruko remained silent.

"Is there something else you didn't tell me?" Kushina prodded. "I'll find out anyway 'ttebane."

Naruko clenched her fists. "I…" she mumbled, "I don't want to become Hokage," she looked at Kushina then, "Not without earning the position! I mean, sure being Hokage would be cool but…but I want to be chosen because I'm the best, not because it was dad's job!"

"What brought this on?"

"Don't you think it's unfair?" Naruko said. "I mean, what I have? Don't you think it's unfair?"

Yugao stopped flipping through the pages and started to gaze at Naruko, who was squirming in an effort to find the right words. "You know, it hurts when you get stabbed or sliced, but I heal in seconds, right? I killed in the forest of death and…and it was easy, so easy. I just had to take my hand and throw a fist and…and it was over. It was so easy." Bitterly, Naruko's eyes turned watery. "I…I didn't want to, I even preached Shin-chan against it and then, in the end, I'm the one who went down to it first when I saw one of my friends on the ground. I'm…I'm not really a good preacher if I can't follow what I preach, right?"

"Oh…" Kushina mumbled, getting down on one knee near Naruko, "No, no…you did the right thing, Naruko. Nobody faults you for being angry at seeing your teammate on the ground."

"It was the blood," Naruko mumbled, "There was so much…he was covered in it and he wasn't breathing, and…I started to scream at him to wake up, cause you can't fall asleep when you're that wounded or you never wake up. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't woken up…I mean…" she sniffled, "I don't know what I'd done if it had been Sasuke, but Sasuke would never end up like that so he's sort of easy to forget about."

Naruko made a hesitant smirk, "But…" the smirk faltered, "I mean, Shin-chan was the one on the ground, he was there protecting us, me and duck butt…and I didn't think it would ever happen…and…" tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"And I realized I was being a hypocrite. I went on thinking how we'd protect Shin-chan, me and Sasuke, because he's weaker than us and all… I thought of him as a friend, a teammate, but… I never considered him at our level. That's…that's probably…what I'm trying to say is…if it had been me, the one still awake, without the Kyuubi…what am I? I mean…Shin-chan has got nothing, but hearing from dad he carried both me and Uke-chan to safety and…and would I have been able to do the same without the Kyuubi? I mean…isn't it unfair for me to use it?"

Kushina sighed. "I'm glad that you think like that, Naruko…but you have to understand that everyone is born with different gifts. Some are born with special chakra while others are born with Doujutsu, bloodlines or specific techniques only their clan can execute. But you see, this simply makes everyone different and special in his own way. I'm sure you would have come up with your own way of protecting your teammates, if you had been powerless, just like I'm sure Sasuke would have gone through the same thing. What's important isn't the power you wield with your hands," Kushina gripped Naruko's hands, "But what your heart tells you to do with it," she pushed Naruko's and her hands towards the girl's chest, where the heart was. "That's what important —to have a good heart."

"Mom…" Naruko pitifully began to sob as Kushina hugged her.

"Hush, crybaby…my little crybaby."

Yugao quietly excused herself.

She also had to take notes —many, many notes.

Sasuke watched the pond's surface shimmer under the movements of the bamboo bridge, which filled with water and then went 'thunk' to release its contents inside the pool. The Koi carps swam around without a care in the world, and as he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath.

It was the middle of the night, and everything was silent.

His ears perked up slightly.

"Father?"

"Son," Fugaku replied dryly, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his body standing a few feet away from his son. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking," Sasuke said.

"Itachi used to do the same thing," Fugaku replied. He fell quiet a moment later. "You should go to bed, it is getting late."

"Father," Sasuke said suddenly, as Fugaku already had begun his retreat. The man stilled. "Do you ever regret it?"

"What?"

"Nii-san…not having told him everything you wanted to tell him," Sasuke mumbled. "Like…"

"Regretting what you cannot change will not change anything," Fugaku replied, his voice cut and dry. "You should concentrate on training your body to hold your eyes' power and in keeping that despicable man's seal under control."

"I know," Sasuke murmured. "Still, I think the elders are wrong," he opened his eyes, gazing at the stars. "I don't think the Mangekyou is a tool for war…There's…There's just too much pointing against it," he said.

"The problem of youth is to believe they are always right," Fugaku snorted.

"The problem of old fools is to think they are never wrong," Sasuke retorted. "Itachi followed the elders' desires, and when they no longer had a use for him they threw him away like a broken toy," his voice heated up. "I…I will not enter Anbu, father," he said. "I will enter the medic corps."

Fugaku clenched his fists. "Why?"

"These precious eyes of the clan, they could have been ripped out with ease during the Chuunin exam," Sasuke hissed. "It wasn't because I was an Uchiha that they weren't. It wasn't because I had a great power or a great renown that they weren't. It was because my teammate withstood blows until he could no longer stand, gritting his teeth and carrying on defending my unconscious body. Being rookie of the year meant nothing in the end. It was the dead-last of the class that saved my life," he chuckled bitterly. "And I realized it then, Itachi-Nii's words…_so that it doesn't happen again_," he closed his eyes.

"The Mangekyou can only activate with the great sense of loss one can feel from the death of his closest friend, so that it doesn't happen again. It is so that another death of such intensity, of such agony, will never happen again. That is what the Mangekyou is about. It isn't about killing the enemy, it's about protecting those dear to you. The Sharingan isn't meant to be used for war against the enemy…but as a tool to defend your loved ones."

Fugaku didn't say a word as he left, but then again, Sasuke doubted he would have.

His father was too prideful, but swallowing one's pride…that was generally the way towards enlightenment.

He wondered as he gazed at the stars once more, those twinkling masses of light up in the sky, if such a beautiful peace could last forever.

It truly was beautiful.

His neck hurt, but he clicked his tongue against his teeth and suppressed it. He didn't need more power, he didn't need to find out anything from Orochimaru. Everything he needed to know, he knew.

Ebisu slammed his fist against his right arm, but he forced the attack back with a left hook. The man avoided the blow, halting his incoming kick. Shinku gripped at the retreating fist of the Jounin, twisting his body and pulling close to deliver an elbow strike with his left arm. The Jounin slid backwards on the water, settling his glasses back on his face.

"Very well," Ebisu acquiesced. "You are finally starting to show your teeth."

"I like to call them fangs," Shinku remarked dryly, "and we came up with a little something we wanted to try," he added.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Ebisu retorted. Shinku just smiled, moving into position with his right leg behind extended and his left one flexed in front of him. His right hand down to his side and his left forward, the boy smiled with a feral smirk.

"Come and test us," Shinku chuckled as Ebisu charged ahead at a low speed.

Ebisu went with his left hook, and Shinku jumped backwards with his left leg only of a small little jump, before slamming the left foot on the water's surface to let it ripple. In that moment, Ebisu faltered and Shinku's right foot came forth with a drizzle of scorching water for the man's face. Twisting in mid-air, using his hands to hold himself afloat, he completed the spin with a kick to the side of the man's face.

At least, it would have been a kick if Ebisu hadn't parried it with his left hand and had proceeded to hold on to his ankle.

"I am still waiting," Shinku growled lightly. "Was this what you wanted to show? It is a pathetic attempt at something that wouldn't hurt even an academy student."

Soon, his ankle twisted together with his entire body as he crashed with his back against the water surface.

He spluttered and gagged for air…and in that moment a bullet of green chakra slammed with both feet straight into Ebisu's chest, sending the man to crash against the rocky wall.

"Don't you bully my Shinku-kun!" Fu exclaimed huffing, standing on her fluttering green wings of chakra as he grabbed a hold of Shinku's hand to pull him back up. Holding a pout on her face, she brought him back to shore.

Shinku exhaled, sputtering out the bath water.

"Gah!" he was pulled down, his head suddenly on Fu's lap as the girl chirped with a content smirk.

"I got some free time! And when I think I'm about to surprise you, I see that bad meanie bully you! Really," she huffed, "So," she giggled. "Are you surprised?"

"Ah…yes," he acquiesced. "I am."

Fu smiled as if she had just won a prize. "Good! Can we go on a date?"

"Is my teacher still knocked out cold?" Shinku asked.

"I can make him disappear if that's the problem," Fu replied calmly, without any heat in her voice as she gestured for her flesh-eating bugs. "We can hide the bones in the forest."

"You didn't say that," Shinku replied.

Fu giggled. "I was joking! Really," her left hand gently went to caress Shinku's hair. "But I don't like seeing you hurt."

Shinku chuckled. "I get hurt a lot."

Fu pouted. "Well, then we'll just have to stop it from happening."

"How's your training going?"

Fu huffed, playing with a lock of his hair. "It's boring. Choumei and I are doing everything we're told, but it's always about 'doing it faster' and 'doing it better'," she pouted. "I got free time today so I flew over as fast as I could!"

"Choumei?"

"Oh," Fu widened her eyes, "Right, the Nanabi! Her name is Choumei, or…well, its name is Choumei. He doesn't…It doesn't have a gender so…"

"Ah," Shinku blinked. "Can it hear us?"

"Uh-uh. It says that if you hurt me, she'll make sure to eat you. I told him not to, but it insisted."

"Well…nice to meet…you, Choumei-san?"

Fu blinked. "It said flattery will not stop him from eating you if you make me sad."

"Date?" Shinku said with a bright smile, as he tried to stand up.

"Later," Fu replied with a giggle, holding him down. "I like playing with your hair, Shinku-kun."

Shinku exhaled. Well…there were only two weeks until the tournament.

He was going to be ready.

He knew it.

**Author's notes**

**I…I think I wrote beautiful, beautiful lines of both Naruko and Sasuke in this chapter. Sniffle.**

**The fluff must be getting to my brain. I need healing. Healinggg…'44' should be an unlucky number and yet, it's filled with love and fluff and everything nice…argh…what is happening to me?**


	45. In the Mist Does the Blood Run Crimson?

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Five

He could do this.

It was early in the morning, and he could do this. He just had to tell his parents he intended to go to Taki on a semi-permanent basis after the tournament. They wouldn't even realize he was gone. Maybe he'd even tell them he had a girlfriend.

Still, as he heard their footsteps going through the kitchen, he took to the window once more.

He'd do that tomorrow.

Muramase-san chuckled as he watched his 'part-timer' start carrying the heavy stuff around the shop. He had told the boy to come at four, and he was there at three and a half every morning.

"You're really working hard for the tournament, aren't you?" he asked, watching as the boy exhaled while dropping a crate of scrap metal that he had to melt near the forge.

"Hai," Shinku replied. "I…I have somewhere I want to go as a Chuunin," he muttered.

"Oh? Is it a girl?" Muramase smirked, "It's always a girl."

The boy turned red and the blacksmith just chuckled, before starting the fire of the forge. He was so used to the familiar heat that anywhere else was simply 'cold' for him now.

"You sure you're ready for such a commitment anyway?" Muramase said after a few hours of silence, in which Shinku had kept on carrying the refuse crates close to the forge for re-melting. "When you're young you always think your crush is your one true love. Then you grow up and it's no longer true," the blacksmith chuckled. "You shouldn't make life-changing decisions without thinking about them for a long while."

Shinku didn't reply.

"Ah, I know it's none of my business, but what did your parents say about it?"

"I didn't tell them," Shinku replied. "I didn't plan on."

"You know, boy," Muramase said. "I'm sure they'd like to know if their son's planning to leave for another village early on."

Shinku bit his lips. "I don't think so," he shook his head. "Is there anything else I have to carry?"

"Nah, man the counter and open the shop," Muramase replied.

Muramase's shop did have a few customers in the early morning. Shinobi who were low on stocks acquired bundles filled with a varied assortment of kunai or ninja wire, while the shuriken sold by the dozen. It was no different than watching women shop at the market —weighing, checking the quality, analysing the imperfections— but with shinobi and kunoichi.

The fourth basket of assorted kunai and shuriken he sold belonged to the same girl he had seen in Neji's team.

"Hey," Tenten was her name, if he recalled correctly. "You work here?"

"Only for this month," Shinku replied, letting the conversation die down as he ringed up the price.

"Aren't you worried for the finals? Shouldn't you be training like crazy?" the girl asked, grabbing her purchases.

"I train in the afternoons," Shinku replied. "And Muramase-san is helping me with something for the finals, so I help him back in the mornings."

"Oh? Then I'll come by and watch, if you don't mind."

Shinku awkwardly smiled. "I doubt anyone will be interested. There are better fights earlier on."

"You mean the boring ones?" Tenten rolled her eyes, "We all know how those are going to end. I'm more interested in seeing that Suna bitch bite the dust," the girl growled. "If she manages to get forward, punch her for me, all right?"

"I doubt I'll get that far," Shinku's lips twitched, "But I'll try."

Tenten waved goodbye and left, leaving Shinku back to his job at hand.

He needed a fire technique, now that he wondered about that.

Kabuto passed by during the lunch break, and together the two of them went to grab a bite at the Yakiniku shop once more.

"Katon techniques that are easy to learn," Kabuto hummed thoughtfully. "The Fire Flamethrower and the Fire Ball are the basic fire techniques of Konoha. The Sarutobi clan and the Uchiha clan are supposedly very good. You could ask your teammate about that."

Shinku shook his head. "I don't want to impose. I'm sure he's busy with his training."

"Well, one of the easiest tricks I know of to create fire is to imagine your chakra coming out in flames from your stomach, rising up like some sort of forge fire all the way to the start of your throat and then expelling it out directly," Kabuto replied. "Holding the Tiger seal is also helpful for that endeavour."

Kabuto smiled. "Another easy usage is to channel chakra towards your hands with the Tiger seal and then imagine it turning into flames. I tried it once with my chakra scalpel and I nearly burned my fingers off, but the practice makes the shinobi perfect."

"So…Tiger seal?"

"Indeed. I know of a person who is really into researching new techniques, and sometimes he can spend weeks fixating on a single hand seal and seeing how using it changes techniques," Kabuto replied.

"However you should watch out if Fire is actually your chakra affinity or not," Kabuto remarked. "While it is true that the majority of the Konoha population has a natural predisposition for fire Chakra, it doesn't mean everyone has it. You might have Water affinity, or Earth or Lightning…Wind is the rarest of Konoha's affinities, but it can't be excluded."

"Ah…how do you find out?"

Kabuto kept up his smile. "Normally, you use a thin strip of paper that comes from a chakra-grown tree. You channel chakra through it and watch the results. If it slices it's wind, burns it's fire, turns soggy it's water, crumbles it's earth and crackles it's electricity."

Kabuto calmly took out from one of his pockets such a strip of paper. "The second most common affinity in Konoha is Lightning and it is swiftly followed by Water. I have a Water affinity for example, which is why I suck at Fire manipulation…" the boy awkwardly sighed, "And unfortunately, I know no water techniques worthy of the name."

He handed the strip over to Shinku. "Try channelling chakra through it. I admit I'm curious about what your affinity is, Haruno-kun."

"Where do they sell these?" Shinku mumbled, grabbing the piece and letting chakra run through it. He didn't know why he expected something more. Maybe, just maybe, he had some rare and powerful affinity that would pop out and…

No. Of course not.

The paper burned to a crisp. He had fire affinity. He was just like the majority of the Konoha population.

"In specialty shops," Kabuto replied, holding a smile on his face. "Well, it appears that you might be able to learn a fire technique in less than two weeks. I'd recommend something special however. It is easy to go with the Fire Ball and the Flamethrower, but coming up with a technique of your own wouldn't be bad at all."

Shinku shook his head warily. "I don't think I have what it takes to create a technique from scratch."

"Well, Haruno-kun…you won't know until you try."

The afternoon 'beating' with Ebisu was strange. The trainer actually coughed, before saying. "Haruno-san," his eyes fixed on the boy, "I think I overstepped my boundaries in training you, and for that I apologize."

"Uh?"

"I would like to start our training anew, if that is all right with you?"

"Why? Was there something wrong, Ebisu-sensei?"

Ebisu had tears in his eyes. Such a proper boy! How could he have thought of using him as a stress relief, when he clearly needed a break from whatever hell he had gone through? Especially after the Hokage had told him that if something bad happened to the boy, he'd find himself transferred to the deepest outpost near Iwagakure.

He was too young to die.

"Ahem, anyway!" Ebisu said, "I have scrunched up some data and I think we can start working on some chakra techniques now that you have properly built up your capacity."

Shinku just nodded.

"Now, reinforcing one's body area with chakra is a key technique…"

That night, Shinku returned home without a single bruise. He actually was somewhat happy about that, so much that he missed the glaring obvious sign of a light on in the kitchen.

"Shinku," the boy blinked and stilled midway through his step. "I heard you reached the finals, congratulation."

His mother was standing there, a cup of coffee in her hands. "Your father's holding the shop alone; I hope he doesn't burn it down if I'm not there."

"Hey mom," Shinku whispered softly.

"Shinku," Mebuki said. "When were you planning on telling us?"

Shinku remained quiet.

"Answer me!" Mebuki snapped, "When were you planning on telling us you had passed the first two exams?"

Shinku flinched, averting his gaze.

"You always do that. I ask you something and you don't answer," Mebuki sighed. "Where did I go wrong with you?"

"I don't know. Did you do anything to begin with?" Shinku replied calmly. "Right, right…this argument is getting old. I'm not a kid any longer, mother," he muttered, "I don't need you breathing down my neck. That time's gone."

"Maybe I should have. You could have been the first of the class if I had pushed you harder. I let you go and you became the dead last, of course," she exhaled. "You take after your father in that. No daughter of mine would have ever fallen so low."

"Yes, sorry for not being a female like you wanted me to be."

"You know I love you anyway, Shinku," Mebuki replied with a soft voice. "Why can't you try and open up? You don't have to push us away, dear."

"I have a girlfriend," Shinku said suddenly. "I want to try and aim to become a Jounin," he added, clenching his fists. "I'm going to pass the exams and become a Chuunin, so that I can go to Takigakure and be with her," his face turned red. "I…I'm no longer a kid, mom."

"Oh," Mebuki blinked. "You're too young to start living on your own," she said after a small moment of shock. "And I won't approve of any girlfriend I haven't talked with at least once."

"I've been living on my own since you started working with father," Shinku hissed back, "And there's nothing to approve. I—"

"You're just a child!" Mebuki snapped, "This discussion is over Shinku! I'm your mother, and as such I know what's good for you! I'm glad you decided to aim your dreams a bit higher —if unrealistically— but there is no way I'll approve you going to live alone!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Shinku shook his head. "There is _nothing_ to approve! You're done deciding my life!"

"Oh, really?" Mebuki raised an eyebrow. "Then how about you leave? I could always use a free room."

"Then why don't you free that room!" Shinku snarled back. "What are you expecting, uh? For a girl to pop down from nowhere!?"

"You shut up right now, young man! You don't get to speak to me in such a way! Not after everything I've sacrificed to grow you up!"

"Sacrificed? For me? What did you sacrifice, uh?" Shinku hissed. "You sacrificed nothing! I want to know when was the last time we sat down to eat dinner as a family, all of us. Work comes first, doesn't it? Well, keep going to work then! Drown yourself in it!"

"What would you have me do!? Stay in this house, when there's that room!?"

Shinku closed his eyes. "So, in the end you're that bitter I wasn't born a girl?"

"It's not about that," Mebuki whispered. "You were too young, but, well…your father and I decided to try again. You could have had a little sister or a brother, but then…the Kyuubi attacked in October and I ended up under the rubbles of the market district. When they dug me out there wasn't anything to do, I had been pierced by a metal shard from side to side…they could barely save my life and the shock was too great."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Shinku muttered back.

"Because you were, and still are, too young!" Mebuki yelled back at him. "That's what parents do: they shield their children from the bad things in the world, and they make sure they don't commit mistakes!"

"It's not a mistake, what I want to do."

"You say this now," Mebuki hissed, "You don't know how the world works. You think killing someone makes you an adult now?"

"W-What!? No!" Shinku spluttered out, "That doesn't—"

"You want to be independent, uh?" Mebuki snorted, "You wouldn't have survived a single day out of Konoha if it weren't for your teammates being who they are. I'm pretty sure they had to carry you through all their missions," the woman continued speaking, "while you lagged behind."

"That's not…true," he hissed.

"Really? Well, then you don't mind if I come and see you lose at the tournament," Mebuki rolled her eyes. "You probably fought a girl or something to get in anyway, there's no other reason you…"

"Fine!" Shinku slammed his right fist on the table, "I get it! Dead last Shinku can't do shit to save his life!" he snarled, "Well, I'm done talking with you! I'll be out of your hair by the end of the tournament, so you can go back to work, stop worrying about me and while you're at it you can even die in that damn bakery for all I care about you!" and with that he stormed off, slamming the door strongly shut behind him.

Really, why was it so difficult for people to understand?

He wasn't doing anything strange, was he?

At least with his father he could have talked. His mother simply decided and he had to obey her. That was starting to grate on his nerves. He wasn't always wrong. Sure, maybe he wasn't always right, but that didn't mean he was always wrong.

Blissfully, that was the last time he talked with his mother until the tournament day.

One week away from the tournament, and Shinku watched Muramase-san start to work on his jacket. "How much do you think you can lift, boy?" the man said, "A kilo? Five? Would you be able to move comfortably with eight or nine?"

Shinku blinked. "Ehm…"

"Yeah, as I thought you have no idea," Muramase rolled his eyes. "Well then, don't just stand there watching. Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to give your jacket a hard leather interior, and stick in between the pieces an interweave of mail and steel plates. Your chest and shoulders should be able to withstand the blow of a katana, but Kirigakure shinobi tend to favour thrusting and backstabbing."

Muramase sighed. "The problem is mobility. It's more of a matter of where the blow will hit rather than how strong it can withstand it. Say I give you a neck guard —suddenly they won't hit the neck any longer, but aim at the throat— at the same time you'll lose visibility which might be fatal."

Shinku crossed his arms over his chest. "What about following the…design I scrunched up?"

"You mean the plates stitched up to protect the important parts? That would unbalance it, wouldn't it? My suggestion kid is to go with a nice long chainmail all through the jacket. It will weight quite a bit, but it should let you keep your mobility. The plates, I can place them where you're more likely to be hit by enemy shinobi. Heart, kidneys, the spine…I suppose the upper torso is a must…"

Muramase looked at him, "You should try and get some muscles. The more of it you can carry without it weighing down on you, the better."

Shinku snorted. "As if carrying your scraps around isn't doing wonders."

"Still, you know the concept behind shinobi armour, right? It's not about making you impenetrable. It's about bludgeoning the attacks. Senbon needles coated with poison will bounce off, and Kunai will have their impact deadened by the plates. It's not about getting off unscathed…it's about getting bruises rather than being gutted."

"I'd like not being gutted," Shinku acquiesced.

Muramase snorted. "Everyone would like that. Very well, leave it to me then…but now I've got to ask you the most important question of them all…"

Shinku raised an eyebrow.

"What colour do you want it?"

Shinku Haruno watched the crowd in the arena's seats roar and clap at the finalists. The applause rung out particularly loud, especially when the side of the crowd with the pink flags screamed 'Naruko-Tan' met the side that yelled 'Sasuke-sama'.

He didn't know if his parents had actually come to observe, or if they had chosen to keep on working despite everything. He didn't much care. Standing in line, as the eleventh, he gave a sideways glance to his teammates. Naruko gave him a wide grin and a thumb-up, while Sasuke smirked.

Shinku gripped at the sides of his long sleeves and exhaled. The weight over his shoulders came from the reinforced steel plates that Muramase-san converted to shoulder protectors. His jacket now closed with metallic snaps, giving it the appearance of some sort of long dress —following the oriental tradition. He had pockets on the front and the sides, while the reinforced sleeves held protective plates for his armguard.

Unless hit in the face or in the lower part of the body, he was going to bruise…but he wasn't going to bleed.

He smiled towards Kabuto too, and then he and the rest took to the Genin box while Naruko and Neji remained down below for the first match.

Sasuke accosted him a moment later, his lips twitching. "Every time we see each other, you increase the amount of armour on you."

"One day," Shinku mumbled, "I'll find a way to wear a samurai's armour."

Sasuke shook his head. "You ready for this?"

Shinku exhaled. "I hope so," he narrowed his eyes. "I don't think I'll go past the first bout, but I'll do my best."

"If I think I'll have to fight Naruko afterwards," Sasuke shuddered. "It's going to be annoying, I know it."

"Hey," Temari —the sand kunoichi— snapped then, "What makes you think you'll defeat Gaara, uh?"

Sasuke gave a quizzical look to the fan girl, and then muttered. "So that's what Naruko meant with 'Giant Fan-Girl'. I couldn't understand why she was laughing like mad…"

"Are you ignoring me?" Temari hissed.

"You were eavesdropping on us," Sasuke shot back, "I find that extremely rude."

"Ohi lazy-ass!" Ino yelled, coming close to the contestant's box. "Remember! You can't surrender!"

Ino saw Sasuke soon after, and she began to coo. "Sasuke-kun! I'll be cheering for you!"

Down in the arena, Naruko flexed her arms and cracked her neck. "So, ready to get that spar underway?"

"Namikaze-san," Neji replied, "Fate has declared you will win this battle. I will endeavour myself to lose graciously."

"Ohi! That's bullshit! I'm going to kick your ass because I'm strong, got that? Not because 'fate' said so!"

Neji assumed his own fighting position. "There is no fighting against fate, Namikaze-san."

"Enough talking," Gekko Hayate remarked. "Fight!"

Naruko charged ahead, fist extended. Neji grunted in effort as he deflected the fist, before redirecting the kick up in the air. Even though the Gentle Fist was all about redirecting the enemy's attacks, Naruko's carried the same strength of a freighter train. If a single one connected, it would shatter bones.

Even deflecting them wasn't easy, and for all of his skills Neji found himself being pushed back. He knew this was just another trick of fate, having him fight the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and the daughter of the Yondaime was simply another way for destiny to squash his head on the ground. He knew he wouldn't win the tournament from the very moment he extracted the number one.

He'd surrender soon, letting the girl have the victory fate had decreed for her.

"Why aren't you fighting back!?" Naruko yelled, "I hate this! I hate this! Why aren't you trying?" her leg slammed on the ground, sending rock shards everywhere as it cracked the surface. "You won't know until you try, so why are you giving up!?"

"Because it's fate!" Neji spat out, "And Fate cannot be defied!"

"That's bullshit! People defy fate every day!" Naruko yelled back, "You—"

"Proctor! I would like to surrender!" Neji exclaimed then, as Naruko's eyes widened while she stilled.

"Very well," Hayate said. "Winner of the watch by means of surrender, Naruko Namikaze!"

There was a standing ovation from the crowd, as Neji turned and left without saying another word. Naruko's right hand trembled into a fist as she ground her teeth and bit her lower lip. In the end, she'd get a real fight out of Sasuke.

"Already my turn," Sasuke grumbled. "See you later, Shinku."

"Good luck," Shinku replied. Gaara flickered down in a cloud of sand, soon followed by Sasuke on the other side.

Naruko reappeared up in the contestant box, before tackling in a hug Shinku.

"Shin-chan! I missed you so much! So, did you and Fu-chan get to play the dirty doctor and the sick patient? Uh? Who was the patient? Come on, tell everything to your best friend!"

Shinku awkwardly pulled Naruko away, before coughing. "Ehm…everything's fine."

"Oh? No kissing yet? Only platonic? Come on…you have blue balls or something?"

Shinku spluttered. No, he hadn't missed this side of Naruko at all.

"Where is she by the way?" Naruko asked, looking around. "Ah! There she is!"

Shinku blinked, before following her gaze to a nearby rooftop, where Fu was apparently standing guard over and making gestures towards them.

He awkwardly raised a hand back to wave at her.

"Smooth uh," Naruko stated plainly. "They call you mister smoothness now?"

"What are you talking about?" Shinku replied, perplexedly gazing at Naruko.

"Nothing," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Nothing at all."

Down below, meanwhile, the fight began.

"Killing you will prove my existence," Gaara said, his eyes dark and wanting for blood. Sasuke sighed, and then shook his head.

"First off," Sasuke's eyes turned to their Mangekyou variant, "I don't want to kill you. Secondly, you'd be dead before you could even manage to land a lethal hit on me because if you haven't realized it yet, we are literally surrounded by Anbu. Third, I already have you in my Genjutsu, so unless you want to unleash your Bijuu in the arena —which I suggest you don't because I'll just smack him down— I highly advise you to surrender."

Gaara growled, lifting his hand to call forth his sand…that didn't answer.

"You see, we shared an eye-glance and that's really all that I need to take control of you. I saw you fight Rock Lee and your sand, no matter how pretty it is, requires chakra for manipulation. You won't be able to manipulate your sand while in my Genjutsu, and while apparently your sand shield is still active by reflex…you'll eventually run out of chakra," Sasuke smiled. "So you see, this is my win."

"You lie," Gaara hissed. "You lie. You lie. You're lying. You lie…You're lying! I'm not dead!"

"Course you aren't," Sasuke snorted, "You're still an ally of Konoha. I wouldn't kill you in any circumstance."

"If I don't kill you…mother will be displeased, she wants your blood! You're making her angry…" Gaara growled.

"Enough!" Sasuke barked, "There is no 'mother' in here. The only thing you're hearing is probably your Bijuu. Sunagakure has the Ichibi, doesn't it? Is the seal not containing the beast properly? Is that why you're out for blood and…"

The illusion broke as the Ichibi's chakra broke free. "I'll kill you!" Gaara roared, half-morphed into the Ichibi's state.

"Stupid fool," Sasuke snarled, jumping backwards to avoid a crushing hand of sand. The Susanoo rose to its full height, dwarfing the meagre form of the half-transformed Gaara before slamming down on its form its skeletal hand of chakra. "I hope you're still alive after this," Sasuke mumbled, letting the Susanoo go and gazing at the dust cloud. The sign of a hand in the ground were accompanied by the guttural growls from a cracked dome of sand, where within the boy seemed to have survived.

Charging ahead, Sasuke extracted his Katana and charged it with electrical chakra. His Mangekyou active, he sliced through the sand hands and through the sheer friction and heat turned them to glass —shattered glass that left behind floating crystals of light.

"Why did he get the guy to show off with!?" Naruko whined, wringing her hands to the metal bar. "It's not fair!"

Temari watched the scene aghast. The Uchiha was _toying_ with Gaara. What sort of monster could he be, if he could literally play with her brother?

Slamming the Katana through the dome, Sasuke upped the voltage. Gaara screamed from the inside as the sand cracked and split apart.

"Wind is strong against Electricity, but your sand is tied to the Earth element…" Sasuke remarked coolly, "And Electricity shatters the ground!"

Overarching arches of electricity bolted through the entire dome, turning it to glass and then fragments of it. Gaara's eyes were wide open as he found himself facing down the tip of Sasuke's katana.

"Do you yield?" Sasuke replied coolly, "Because if you insist…I will stomp you down on the ground again."

Gaara knew fear, even though some part of him had forgotten about it…he remembered it, the feeling of being afraid. He stared at the weapon that could kill him, at the boy that could kill him, at the power he had believed so strong suddenly turn out so weak…and he lowered his gaze downwards.

"Why aren't you killing me?" he asked warily.

"Because you're an ally of Konoha," Sasuke replied. "Because you're a human being. Because you're probably a lonely guy who just needs a friend, rather than a murdering Bijuu in their heads. Because I don't want to kill you. Because I choose so…because that's who I am. So…" Sasuke sheathed his katana, and extended his right hand. "How about it? Do you want to be friends?"

Gaara just watched the extended hand, as if it was something so alien and foreign to him that it didn't make sense. Someone extending a hand towards him had never happened before. He…

He took it and muttered.

"I…yield."

"Winner by surrender, Sasuke Uchiha!" Hayate exclaimed.

The crowd cheered even louder than before, the flags with the 'Sasuke-sama' flapping hard. Meanwhile Fugaku brought a hand to his face and remained silent.

"Dear?" Mikoto asked, "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, I'm just trying to ignore my son making friends with someone who wanted to kill him a moment before. I blame the Namikaze's influence on him."

Naruko blearily watched the scene from the contestant box, before grumbling. "Wonderful…now I have to make sure he isn't waiting for the right chance to strike him down," she pouted before turning to gaze at Shinku with an appraising glance. "Maybe he'll turn out half as awesome as Shin-chan," she nodded to herself.

Shinku's lips twitched in a sort of awkward smile.

"I…He…Gah…What…" Temari's hands went towards the scene, then Naruko, then back to the scene, then to the girl's hair. "What happened?"

"I think our brother made a friend," Kankuro mumbled. "At least, he hasn't killed him yet."

Naruko grumbled from her spot. "Show off of an Uchiha show off," she looked at Shin-chan next. "Now when it's your turn, don't you go out revealing your secret ultra-cool techniques all right? You're both going to make me look bad otherwise."

Shinku just chuckled nervously.

"Hey," Sasuke appeared in a flicker. "Was I good or what?"

"Yeah, yeah Uke-chan," Naruko rolled her eyes. "You were awesome all right…"

Kankuro and Shino went down next.

"So, we're going to face each other," Sasuke smiled. "You ready to kick the ground, dobe?"

"Ohi Teme," Naruko retorted. "You're the one going down."

"Same rules as sparring?"

"Same rules as Awesome Sparring!"

Sasuke groaned. "I hate 'Awesome' sparring rules."

"You owe me one!" Naruko shot back. "Remember that time with the underwear thief?"

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled. "You win."

Kabuto smiled from his corner, looking at Shinku who merely shrugged back. He barely understood his teammates half of the time, so he suspected Kabuto was completely lost.

The match between Shino and Kankuro ended with Shino's win. Apparently, the Kikkaichu could eat the puppeteer's chakra strings —making his puppets unusable.

"Good luck, Kabuto-san," Shinku said as Kabuto went down in the arena, keeping up his smile.

"Uh? Shin-chan, you know him?" Naruko asked, looking at him.

"Oh…yeah," Shinku replied.

Naruko moved her face closer, her eyes fixated on his.

"Is something…the matter?"

"No," Naruko exclaimed suddenly, "Nope," she shook her head. "Just my luck…" he swore he heard her grumble, "More people to check on."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shrugged.

Kabuto held his smile even as the proctor gave the signal to start. He charged ahead, his hands going through the seals for the Flamethrower technique. The moment the girl opened her fan, it was already too late.

The flames engulfed her, forcing her to drop the fan and jump backwards. Two smaller fans emerged from her palms, but she couldn't even swing them that Kabuto closed the distance even more and began to throw a volley of shuriken to keep her distracted long enough.

Within instants, he was holding her at close range and forcing her on the defensive. Sparks sailed in the air as kunai met fan —reinforced with steel— for a few minutes, before Kabuto executed a roundhouse kick that settled the match, hitting firmly on the jaw the kunoichi from Suna and sending her to barrel on the ground.

The match was Kabuto's victory.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled as he descended the arena, followed by Chojuro who remained dutifully quiet. His face was ashen and his hands trembled slightly.

A moment of quiet contemplation settled in Shikamaru as he prepared himself for the rat sign. He just had to use his clan's trademark technique, and everything would solve itself.

The moment Hayate gave the 'start' signal Chojuro flickered out of sight. A gust of wind ruffled Shikamaru's hair, and then the boy's throat constricted. A Katana stood a mere inch away from his throat, held by a hard breathing Chojuro.

"I surrender," Shikamaru drawled out immediately.

Shinku blanched.

That speed…it was inhuman. How…

_**We're screwed.**_

"Ehm," Naruko chuckled nervously, "You can do this, Shin-chan?"

"Very well!" Hayate exclaimed. "The first rounds of fighting have come to an end! Before the start of the second rounds, we will have the qualifier between Chojuro of Kiri and Haruno Shinku."

Chojuro remained on the field, while Shinku slowly descended.

As he passed by Shikamaru, the Nara whispered.

"You should surrender too."

Shinku just ground his teeth and marched down.

Zabuza watched the fight from his spot in the crowd, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrow. He had trained Chojuro exclusively. He had trained the boy for a sole purpose, a sole intention. Either Chojuro killed Haruno Shinku, or Haruno Shinku killed Chojuro. Furthermore, he had pulled some strings with some friends he still had in Kiri.

If Chojuro didn't win…he would never see his parents again. There was no stronger motivation after all, then the risk of losing everything.

Fu watched the fight from her spot on the nearby rooftop and pouted. "I can't see anything…"

"Unfortunately," Kakashi acquiesced, "We are patrolling."

"I think this is simply your fault, Hatake-san," Yugao replied.

Shinku breathed in deeply the air of the arena. The dusty ground felt soft under his feet. He clenched his fists, his eyes locked on those of his opponent. Could he win this?

"I," his opponent said, "Cannot lose." The Katana came into sight once more. "I…will not lose," Shinku could see the boy tighten his hold. "So please…" the boy pleaded, "Die."

Hayate gave the start.

_**GET DOWN, ARMS UP.**_

Shinku knelt, bringing up both of his arms to protect his face just as the katana's blade came crashing down against it. The brunt of the impact shattered the blade against Shinku's hidden armguards, but the boy hissed in pain as he found himself tackling from the side Chojuro.

Shinku elbowed the Kirigakure Genin in the stomach, before throwing a left hook at the boy's face. The Kiri Genin lowered his head, avoiding the hook and then palming a kunai with which he stabbed at Shinku's sides —where the left Kidney was.

The plate absorbed the brunt of the impact, surprising the boy as a right fist slammed into Chojuro's side of the face. Shinku charged ahead, palming his own Kirigakure kunai and thrusting forward. Another kunai met his, of the same quality. Sparks appeared as the two blades connect.

A second kunai found its way in Shinku's left hand, but Chojuro instead went for a hand seal to create mist.

Shinku flexed his legs, pulling backwards and gripping at the ninja wire in one of his pockets. He quickly tied a knot to the handle of his kunai, before tightening his hold on both. A bottle of water emerged from within the created mist —so that was how the boy had used the technique— and then exploded in mid-air, enlarging the area until the entire arena was within the fog.

Shinku stilled his breathing.

He could feel the fog stick to his skin, letting small droplets fall down his chin.

"A…Ah…I'm sorry," he heard the voice of the boy speak, "B-But if I don't…win…they'll…kill my parents."

Shinku remained silent.

_**DOWN!**_

He pushed his entire body on the ground within the next second, before spinning his body to the right side. His legs caught those of the Kirigakure shinobi, throwing him on the ground too. In the middle of the fog, Shinku blindly held his grip with his legs on the sides of the boy's stomach before plunging his own kunai deeply into his guts.

"GAH!" Shinku bit down a curse as he felt a kunai plunge through his back, the impact halted by the armour once more. He rolled on the ground, feeling a weight settle over him. He brought his arms up, before feeling the stabbing impact against his guard. Twisting his arms, he flung the enemy's kunai away.

He couldn't see more than the boy's blurry form, but it was enough to punch him in the stomach —he was supposed to already be wounded there!

With a strong push, Shinku pulled himself free. Swiping away the dribble of blood from his mouth, the boy narrowed his gaze and snarled.

Chojuro heard, and thus he charged. Fist met kunai. As the punch connected with Chojuro's face, Shinku's body twisted around the Kirigakure's Genin as he delivered a knee-attack to the back of Chojuro's left leg. Gripping him with his right arm around his neck, Shinku pulled with his left the boy's hair and threw his body downwards with strength.

The boy's mouth opened, as if to scream…but a bullet of highly pressurized water emerged instead, hitting Shinku squarely in the chest and sending him to slam on the ground and roll out of the slowly drying fog. Shinku gripped on the ground, spatting to the side as he stood back up.

The attack had nicked him in the chest, and now that he could see it in the light of the day, there were many more nicks and tears all around. The boy had pelted him with shurikens while in the fog —and he hadn't even heard him.

His armour had saved his life.

Shinku breathed deeply, his heart drummed and his ears ringed from the rush of blood. The mist disappeared completely.

_**BEHIND AND BELOW.**_

Shinku twisted his entire body, jumping in mid-air just as Chojuro came slicing down to cut at his feet.

Shinku's right foot slammed into the boy's face, sending him to tumble backwards. Without wasting time, Shinku charged ahead. A knee connected with Chojuro's face once more, holding the boy on the ground as a punch slammed into the boy's sides.

Chojuro pushed with all his strength and pulled Shinku away from his body before grabbing at yet one more kunai.

Silently, Shinku did the same.

He sped up, removing friction from his feet as Chojuro did the same. Was this a spar? No. This was a fight to the death.

Shinku's kunai connected with the solid chest of the Kirigakure's boy…who destroyed itself in a clone of water. Before Shinku could react, the shinobi from Kiri struck from the side with…with a Tanto.

_**TO THE SIDE.**_

Shinku sidestepped, the Tanto crashing down on his shoulder pad and shattering there. The steel fragments sliced at his cheek, but he gripped on his enemy's hand, which held the broken blade, and then thrust his own kunai forward. Chojuro yelled in pain as it tore through his left arm, slicing away at the muscle and nicking the bone.

Yet the boy tackled Shinku with his shoulders, removing the hold and then kicking the boy in the stomach once more.

"Why. Won't. You. Die!" Chojuro screamed, letting his left arm bleed as he gripped with his right another Kunai.

Shinku coughed, holding a bitter smile on his face.

"Because I'm made of tough stuff, that's why."

Shinku clenched his hands against his kunai's handle.

Chojuro screamed incoherently as he charged ahead once more, but this time Shinku was ready. Pulling through towards his left side, he sliced forward. A gash opened on Chojuro's left side, as blood sprayed out of it. The boy fell down a moment later, a pool of blood forming at his side. Shinku exhaled, letting go of the breath he had been holding until then.

He turned to gaze at the boy, and that was when he blanched. Chojuro stood once more, battered, wounded and bleeding.

"I'm not…giving up," the boy hissed.

The Kirigakure Genin stumbled forward, before falling face first.

"Call the match!" Shinku exclaimed, "He can't clearly continue!"

Hayate gave a firm nod. "Medic-Nin to the arena! Winner of the match is Shinku Haruno, from Konoha!"

There were a few polite claps.

Well, except for the extreme level of cheering he apparently heard from the contestants' box.

"WOO-HOO! SHIN-CHAN! WELL DONE!"

"Get your ass to the medics, kid," Hayate said suddenly, "or Yugao will kill me."

His eyes widened in surprise, before nodding and wobbling his way towards the medic-ninjas that were standing slightly hidden in the entrance corridors to the arena.

From the rooftops, Kakashi began to 'sagely' nod to himself. "I knew he could do it, I knew it."

"Well done Shinku-kun!" Fu yelled —albeit nobody heard her— while Yugao sighed.

"Why does he always have to get wounded like that?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Boys will be boys…"

And with that, the first round of the tournament came to an end.

**Author's notes**

**I shamelessly cut short fights nobody cares about. Yeah…yeah…sue me…**

**Anyone really wanted to see Shino Vs Kankuro?**

**That said, are you ready for the Gut Punch of Epic Proportions that Is About to Come? Also known as the GPEPIAC? **


	46. The Shattering of Normality

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Six

Shinku's eyes closed as the soothing sensation of healing chakra washed over him. The medic-nin worked quickly, closing the wounds from his front and back. The fatigue would remain, but at least he wouldn't be bleeding out.

He returned up in the contestant's box to a tackling hug from Naruko.

"Yosh! I knew you could do it Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"Congratulation," Kabuto said with a smile. "I can't wait to challenge you in the arena."

"Ah...likewise, Kabuto-san," Shinku replied awkwardly.

The only Genin that remained in the contestant box belonged to Konoha, now that Shinku looked around —Naruko, Sasuke, Shino, Kabuto and him.

"It appears a Konoha Genin will win this tournament. Why do I say this? Because there are only Konoha Genin left."

Minato Namikaze smiled, before turning to gaze at the Mizukage. Yagura merely scoffed, rolling his eyes while holding his coral staff with both of his hands. "I still nominate Chojuro as a Chuunin," the light green haired man with the youthful face said crisply, his dull eyes settling on his bodyguard next.

Mei nodded, scribbling down on a small piece of parchment the name.

"The matches will now begin again!" Hayate exclaimed, taking a mental notice to buy some earmuffs for the next time around.

"NARUKO-TAN! NARUKO-TAN!" the arena's walls trembled as roars of "SASUKE-SAMA!" mixed with "NARUKO-TAN!"

The flags waved faster than before, the crowd excited at the upcoming battle.

Both Naruko and Sasuke descended into the arena in a flicker, taking their spots one in front of the other.

Hayate raised his hand. The moment it went down, both contestants flickered off. Sparks sailed in the air as kunai met kunai, while volleys of shuriken sliced the ground. There were gouts of flames in a corner and then a volley of clones popped in another. It was a completely different level from the battles before. The Rasengan appeared in Naruko's hand just as the Susanoo sprouted from Sasuke's body, deadening the otherwise lethal technique.

"They are showing off their techniques rather than actually aiming at defeating one another," Shino replied. "Why do I say this? Sasuke Uchiha has not used the Mangekyou to end the fight with a Genjutsu."

"Well, one of the two will have to go to the finals," Kabuto exhaled. "I do not know how they will solve us being uneven however…maybe they'll have us go another bout? And hold the elimination before the final?"

"Wouldn't that be problematic?" Shinku murmured back. "I mean…someone would have to fight twice."

As Naruko shattered the ground with a fist, the three 'normal' Genin winced at the same time —albeit Shino hid his behind his sunglasses.

"I think it will be indifferent, because whoever is picked for a rematch will surrender. Why do I say so? Because the chance is high of picking either Namikaze-san or Uchiha-san."

Shinku gazed at the ground of the arena slowly turning into a wasteland of broken earth and self-combusting fires. He shuddered. He wasn't going down there against either Naruko or Sasuke. He understood what Shino meant. If someone ended up with either of the two as their 'Rematch'…he wouldn't survive.

"They're prolonging the match to show off all their tricks," Kabuto remarked dryly. "I think I will surrender in the finals, if I get there."

"Likewise," Shino said.

"Ah," Shinku blearily gazed at Naruko's punch deflected by Sasuke, who returned another to the girl's face. "I think I'll go down fighting."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, I think my teammates would kill me," Shinku chuckled nervously. "Well, not in the literal sense but…"

"I see," Shino acquiesced. Shinku blinked when he saw Naruko give him the thumb-up from the arena, strangely followed by Sasuke before the two returned to fighting one another. Shino saw the gesture however, and turned his head towards Shinku. "How did you manage to become friends with Namikaze-san? She is an extremely reserved person."

"I'll kick your ass all the way to Uzushio, Teme!" Naruko screamed as if on cue from the arena's floor.

"I don't think she's reserved," Shinku winced as another fist sailed the air, "She looks the opposite of reserved."

"Ah, but I have never managed a conversation with her. Why do I say this? Because I tried and failed multiple times to talk with her. I was curious as to why she reacted with hostility towards Hinata, but I never managed to speak with her to find out why. I think it has something to do with the Hyuga-Uchiha diatribe, but I cannot be certain."

"What Hyuga-Uchiha diatribe?" Shinku mumbled, perplexed.

"You do not know?" Shino inclined his head to the side. "Of course it would not be fine for the daughter of the Hokage to have as an exclusive friend only the son of the Uchiha clan. There are many other influential clans in Konoha, and in order not to enmity one or another Namikaze-san used to spend time equally with every other clan children."

Shino took a moment of silence to catch his breath. "I do not know what happened next, however. Suddenly, she stopped visiting the other clan compounds except for the Uchiha house."

Shinku remained silent. "Why don't you ask her when she comes back up?" Kabuto hazarded. "She might answer."

"Proctor, I would like to sur—"

"Ohi! Nope! _I_ would like to surrender!" Naruko yelled at the same time of Sasuke.

Hayate's shoulders dropped, before he turned to gaze upwards to where the Hokage was. Minato Namikaze's right eyebrow twitched.

"Fine," he acquiesced. "The brats are abusing the fact they know they're strong enough to be promoted to Chuunin," he muttered. "Hayate! Mark it down as a draw! Both are out of the exam then!"

The roars in the crowds grew to the point of requiring the shinobi present on the scene to calm down the spirits. Sasuke and Naruko both clapped hands, before heading off shoulder to shoulder towards the medic-nins.

"I would have totally won without the 'awesome' sparring rules," Sasuke grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruko rolled her eyes. "You know I can fight blind anyway. I just hate relying on smell and fuzzy butts."

"You realize we now have to go back in and cheer for Shinku until he wins the tournament, right?" Sasuke stated plainly.

"Course! Team Seven's awesome that way," Naruko nodded. "And this way, when I'll grow old and weary, I'll tell my grandchildren of the day Shin-chan won the tournament while Uke-chan watched with awe and his panties wet."

Sasuke's fist hit the girl's head. "Owie!" Naruko whined. "You don't hit girls."

"I'm not hitting a girl, I'm hitting the stupid out of your body," he retorted.

Back in the arena, Hayate nodded mentally to himself as he held the small radio close to his ear. Having received instructions on how to proceed, he gestured for the three remaining contestant to descend.

"Shino Aburame, Kabuto Yakushi and Shinku Haruno," the proctor said. "Come down on the ring, all three of you."

"Well," Kabuto said, holding up his smile, "It's time…"

Hayate took out three small cards from his pocket, as the three Genin stopped near him. "Pick one, the two cards of the same number will fight first and the uneven one will go last."

Shino picked first, soon followed by Kabuto and Shinku. His card was a rendition of the Iwagakure Kage, bloodthirsty and holding a heart in his hand.

"Those of you who picked the Kage card remain. The one who got the Jounin card has to go back in the contestant box."

Shinku exhaled. This was it. He gazed at the other two Genin, hoping against all odds it wouldn't be…

Kabuto remained.

Shino leisurely walked back up in the contestant box. Shinku sighed. So he was up against the older Genin. He didn't know if it was better than the Aburame and its bugs, but at least he now was sure that if worse came to worse, he wouldn't lose covered in crawling creatures.

Kabuto pushed his glasses back up from the tip of his nose, holding up his smile. Shinku awkwardly gave back a smile of his own.

"Good luck, Haruno-kun."

"G-Good luck to you too, Yakushi-san."

"The match between Shinku Haruno and Kabuto Yakushi will now begin! Both contestants…fight!"

In that instant, a terrifying explosion rocked throughout Konoha. Shinku stumbled, as suddenly his eyes went wide. Was he already in a Genjutsu? No, even Kabuto looked surprised. The arena's walls cracked and broke, large chunks fell down as a massive snake poured through with its giant maws.

Was he hallucinating?

How? When? Why? Who? W-What?

The people in the stands screamed in fear, "Haruno-kun! Watch out!" Kabuto yelled, just as the giant snake slid forward with a terrifying speed —ignoring him as if he were but a speck of dust.

Shinku's felt his entire body pulled away as the Yellow Flash of Konoha took to the field. He watched the spot he had been before, where now the snake had trudged through leaving behind a long line in the ground.

The Hokage's bodyguards appeared right next to him a moment later, their gazes narrow and already armed to their teeth. Shinku's feet touched the ground of the arena's balcony, the Hokage dropping him to turn towards the assembled shinobi.

"Get the people into the shelters!" Minato barked, "Your top priority is the escort of civilians into the bunkers! Don't delude me now, shinobi of Konoha!"

"H-Hai!" Shinku stuttered out, his exclamation drowned by the stronger 'Hai' from the other shinobi present. The Yondaime flashed away.

Kakashi flickered down from his spot just as the Yondaime sailed the air, slamming a rasengan into the giant snake and sending the creature to fly backwards —before it exploded in smoke.

Naruko and Sasuke were next to him in a flash, soon followed by both Fu and Yugao.

Fu gripped tightly on his arm, looking at him with worry clearly etched on her face. "I'm fine," he mouthed. Fu nodded, holding up a bubbly smile a moment later.

"We can take care of getting the civilians in the shelter," Kakashi said to the other Jounin —among who was the leader of Team Ten. "You lot can sweep the area around the planned escape route."

There were nods —apparently Kakashi was high enough in the hierarchy that he automatically assumed command— and then flickers as everyone went.

"How are your chakra reserves?" the silver-haired Jounin asked, "Anyone needs a soldier pill, now's the moment."

Naruko shook her head. "I'm fine and ready for a hundred clones and more."

"I'll take one if the situation warrants it," Sasuke replied.

"I'm fine," Shinku acquiesced.

"Very well," Kakashi nodded. "Naruko, you go up ahead and round up any civilian who left the pre-planned escape route. Use the Kage Bunshin, but don't try to engage the enemy shinobi. Yugao? You go with her."

Kakashi turned towards Fu, "You take the right flank while Sasuke, you'll take the left one. Shinku and I will take the rear."

Kakashi exhaled. "Do not pursue enemy shinobi. Always remain in visual contact with the civilian column and make sure they reach the shelters. If they end up too far from the column, do not try to pursue them…unless you're Naruko and can spare a Kage Bunshin."

Naruko puffed her chest out.

"Now let's move!"

Atop a nearby rooftop, Zabuza stood to the side of Yagura and Mei. "I always wanted a snake wallet," he remarked dryly, gazing at the giant snakes rampaging through the city. "Can I get one?"

"No," Yagura replied. "They are summons. You will not manage to get a snake skin from them."

"If I'm fast enough I will," Zabuza replied.

"Mizukage-sama, should we intervene?"

"We do not have an alliance with the leaf," Yagura remarked. "Defend yourself if attacked, otherwise acquire Chojuro and wait for the siege to end. The Kazekage is already helping Konoha, another Kage is unneeded."

Zabuza grumbled, "I still want my snake skin wallet."

Yagura simply gazed at the swordsman of the mist with a neutral and half-dead look. "That snake offends my morals," he pointed at a twin-headed flame-spouting snake. "Go and get him."

"Thanks boss, I knew you were the best!" and with that, Zabuza charged off with his butcher's cleaver in hand.

"Like dealing with a little kid," Yagura muttered, shaking his head slowly.

Shinku was gripping at straws. He watched the people move, but they were moving too slow. A snake slithered its way through the buildings, crumbling them down, as it seemed on a collision course with the column. Sasuke jumped in mid-air, the Susanoo's arms halting the snake's advance with a chakra sword gutting the beast and making it disappear in a puff of smoke.

Fu controlled large clouds of insects on her side, and just like fleas on a mangy mutt, they swarmed and surrounded another snake that had been moving too close.

"To the left, crumbled building!" Kakashi exclaimed as Shinku's eyes darted in that direction. There was a child crying, a limb stuck beneath the rubble.

He jumped down from the rooftop, one of his arms surrounding the little boy's shoulder as the other pushed the rock away. He'd probably hold on to a bleeding stump of a left foot for a while, but he didn't know first-aid.

The boy's tiny arms gripped tightly on his neck —he couldn't be more than five or six— and he wailed in his ears, making them ring.

The moment he jumped back on the rooftop, holding on to the child, Kakashi eyed him sourly. "You have to hand him over to a civilian in the column. You can't properly protect someone if your hands are busy."

Shinku winced from the harsh tone, before jumping down once more. A burly man who probably was a construction worker wordlessly understood and gripped the boy out of his hold. Shinku mouthed a 'thanks', before heading back up.

His breathing was starting to become ragged. "The shelters' are in the Hokage's monument," Kakashi muttered. "We're not far from them," the silver-haired Jounin looked around. "But something's wrong in this picture."

Shinku bit his lips. He didn't know if his parents were fine or not. He hoped they were, but as it was, he didn't have the time to check. If they had been in the arena, then they were in the column heading towards the shelters. If they weren't…he just hoped they were.

Another summon puffed off in smoke as four Naruko Kage Bunshin all punched it in the head at the same time, screaming 'Dattebayo' to the top of their lungs.

Meanwhile, standing atop a toad Minato Namikaze stared at Orochimaru, who was apparently looking at his nails with a bored expression, himself standing on a giant purple snake.

"You're surrounded by all sides!" Minato yelled, "I don't know what madness took you, Orochimaru, but you have a lot to answer for!"

The snake sannin snorted. "Minato, Minato, Minato," the sannin shook his head. "So pitiful," he snapped his fingers.

An explosion rocked the air, as the Academy _evaporated_ into nothingness. Minato's guts clenched as he watched the building's crumbling remains from his spot, his eyes wide. "Now, let us make an educated guess," Orochimaru continued. "What other buildings —very important buildings— did Orochimaru infiltrate? I would say the waterworks, the hospital, the artisan district…" the sannin began to count them off with the tip of his fingers, "The Hokage tower, the Hokage mansion…the Arena…uhm, how about a deal, Minato-kun?"

Orochimaru's golden eyes shone lightly. "The Forbidden scroll, hand it over and I'll leave without making another peep…or blowing up another building."

Minato ground his teeth. "As if you could have infiltrated all of those places!"

Orochimaru inclined his head to the side. The man smiled, and then he snapped his fingers once more.

The hospital burst up in flames, the upper and lower level detonating as it crumbled down in a mountain of dust.

"Oh my," Orochimaru exclaimed to the ashen face of the Hokage, "I sure hope they evacuated that building in time…"

"Sir," Raido muttered. "Give us the order, and we'll take him down."

There were over a dozen of Anbu surrounding them, but Minato clenched his fists. This wasn't a simple matter of dealing with Orochimaru. "How? How did you…"

"I had help from a friend who's good with explosives," Orochimaru smiled. "So…ready to bargain?"

"I will not hand over the Forbidden Scroll to you, Orochimaru," Minato hissed.

"Oh? Not even if I tell you I have a hostage?" the man's smile widened. "Uchiha Sasuke…he has my brand, doesn't he? Did you know that, unless he comes by my side within the next years…he'll die? I got around to properly modifying the injection of the cursed seal you know, and slowly but surely, it will consume his mind and soul."

Minato ground his teeth. "That's a lie if I ever heard…"

Orochimaru shrugged. "I hold hostage your city, a precious specimen of Uchiha and have torn apart your defences. What is more important, Namikaze? The Forbidden Scroll…or your people?"

Orochimaru's lips parted to show a smile. "You have five minutes to decide. For the Yellow Flash, it's a lot isn't it?"

Minato palmed two three-pronged kunai. "I can always stop you, Orochimaru."

"Oh but you see," Orochimaru gripped at the sides of his face. "I'm not even here to begin with!" the mask pulled away, to reveal a shinobi from sound with a radio on the side of his ear.

"Orochimaru-sama sends his regards," the shinobi stated plainly. "Deliver the scroll to me, the countdown has begun."

To those words, Minato's shoulders began to tremble in ill-conceived rage.

Shinku jumped sideways, avoiding a tail swipe from an angry looking snake. The golden eyes of the beast were fixated on him, its jaws open and its tongue vibrating. Bits and pieces of rubble hit him in the back as he kept on running, jumping on a nearby wall and using it as a trampoline to reach another rooftop.

He landed and rolled on the roof, sweat rolling down his forehead to the side of his chin. His jacket filled with dust from the destroyed building, but everything was fine. The giant snakes were dangerous, and out of his league…but they also appeared to be dwindling in numbers.

He heard the sound of the Raikiri, before Kakashi ploughed through the beast, turning it into smoke as he landed right next to Shinku. The column began marching again, the scare from the snake speeding them up quite a bit.

The Hokage's monument came into view after a few minutes; the shinobi of Konoha forced the civilians to enter slowly, to avoid people dying from the resulting chaos of bodies pushing bodies.

The first explosion tore through Shinku's eardrums as his eyes widened in shock. It took him a moment to realize that the academy was gone, a crater now standing in its place.

Kakashi's lone eye widened considerably.

Next was the hospital, crumbling down like a card castle.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Shinku murmured, his palms trembling. "What is going on?"

"It appears Konoha was infiltrated beforehand," the silver-haired Jounin replied.

"But…how could no one realize…"

"Storage seals," Kakashi whispered. "All it takes is a bit of ink, and an explosive already primed to detonate within storage. The moment the shinobi calls the explosive out of storage, it detonates. It's a common booby trap and nobody would find it strange."

Shinku's eyes closed as the boy let out a shuddering breath. "What...what if the shelters have been infiltrated?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

"Let's hope not," Kakashi murmured, "There's half the population of Konoha in there, and if bombs detonated...the monument would come crashing down. It would be a carnage."

"Shouldn't we warn the people?"

"If we do that, we'll incite panic. Do you understand what it would mean if those inside tried to run out while those outside tried to enter? They'd probably kill each other."

Shinku took another breath. "But if they did infiltrate the shelters, and if nobody warns them..."

"There will be more casualties," Kakashi nodded. "The point is: there are protocols in place. Unless five Anbu squads are wrong, then the shelters are clean. Of course, nothing prevents Orochimaru from having placed explosives in a short interval of merely thirty-minutes, but if that were the case then the point of letting them leave would probably be moot now, would it?"

"Do you think...my parents are..."

"Uhm, I didn't check, but you'd have better luck asking Naruko."

As if speaking of the devil, the girl and Yugao-sensei appeared by their sides then. "The Jounin guarding the entrance to the shelters will take it from here," the woman said crisply. "Are you all right?" she gazed at Shinku softly, who nodded back.

"Naruko?" Shinku hazarded, "Have you seen my parents?"

Naruko blinked. "Shin-chan, I said you have to call me 'Naru-chan' didn't I? 'The most beautiful Naru-chan in the world' would be fine too, but anyway yep! Your mother —I think it was your mother anyway; I only saw her in a photo— was in the civilian column. Your father probably wasn't far."

"Probably?" Shinku dreaded that 'probably'.

"Well, duh, he would have come too, right?"

Shinku gazed towards the artisan district. "Sensei?"

"Uhm...all right," Kakashi exhaled. "Since we _did_ escort the civilian column to the shelters...we can begin swiping the village for anyone we might have missed...If you find any civilians along the way I want you to round them with the Kage Bunshin technique, Naruko."

Naruko nodded, giving a worried glance towards Shinku.

Kakashi just smiled, before signalling Sasuke and Fu to follow them.

Shinku ran from rooftop to rooftop, ignoring the pain he felt to his sides or the burning of his lungs. "Shin-chan, slow down!" Naruko yelled. "You're going to exhaust yourself!"

One more roof and his parents' bakery would come into view. One more roof..._that wasn't there_.

He stumbled, falling down towards the ground face first. Naruko gripped him by the scruff of the neck, changing his trajectory and making the landing smoother. "Shin-chan!" she yelled. "I told you to slow down, didn't I!?"

Shinku looked ahead.

Shinobi of various ranks were working like ants, carrying away large chunks of stone from the buildings and extracting what survivors they could. Many were ashen faced, while a few of the survivors stood unresponsive to the side, their bodies covered in the dust of the crumbling buildings.

His eyes found the familiar form of her mother, standing deathly still in front of a pile of rubble and wood. She was gazing in the direction where the bakery was supposed to be, but there were only ruins.

"Mom?" he croaked out, nearing his mother's still form. "Mom?" he asked again, but she didn't reply. "Where's dad?" he whispered out.

"One minute," Mebuki whispered back. "I'll turn off the oven in one minute. Stupid man, stupid workaholic of a man…" she hiccupped, "I told him to move it, and he just laughed. He pushed me outside, and then it all fell on him," she sniffled. "He…He's still down there."

Shinku dashed for the ruins, his hands gripping at the large chunks of rock as he pushed and pulled them away frantically. It was a matter of moments before Yugao gripped at his shoulders, pulling him away.

"No! Let me go! LET. ME. GO!" he shrieked, trying to break free from the iron grip of his sensei.

"Calm down!" Yugao muttered, holding him. "Shinku, calm down!"

He flailed, trying to reach for the rubble to move it once more.

"Ohi Shin-chan, you're bleeding!" Naruko yelled, moving closer to her teammate. The puddle of red dribbled down his back and bled through towards Yugao's own armour, leaving behind a blotch.

"It's nothing important," he hissed back. "I'm...I'm fine. Let me…go, please."

"You most certainly are not," Yugao replied, palming a soldier pill. "Chew on this," she handed it over to Shinku, who obeyed absent-mindedly. The rest of the team came around just as he returned closer to his mother, who still appeared in shock.

"You said she was in the shelter, dobe," Sasuke hissed. Naruko winced. "What happened?"

"I wasn't sure!" she mumbled back. "Shin-chan's dad didn't make it," the girl added. Fu was about to head over, a look of concern over her face, when Yugao gently grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Now," the woman continued, eying the rest of Team Seven. "Let's keep on looking around for survivors, while we give Shinku the time to grieve with his family, all right?"

Naruko nodded warily, before giving one last look towards the direction of Shinku and his mother.

They all began to help around, carrying rubble, bringing out survivors, corpses…

"Shinku," Mebuki whispered calmly. "I want you out of the house by tomorrow, if the place still stands."

Shinku's eyes widened. "M-Mom?"

"This is your entire fault," she murmured. "If you hadn't been born, if you weren't so useless, if you were the girl I always wanted, then your father would still be alive," she hissed. "It's your fault, you wanted this to happen, didn't you? You wanted me to die too, but I didn't."

"T-That's not—"

"I want you out of the house by tomorrow," Mebuki whispered once more. "I don't care where you go, you stupid insufferable egoistic child, go to Taki or die in a fire…just get out of my sight and never come back."

Shinku didn't reply. He just…began to walk. There were people he could help around the place. There was no need to remain there after all, not in a place that didn't want him to begin with.

Meanwhile, Minato clasped the forbidden scroll in his hands. Grabbing it had been a simple matter of using the Hiraishin technique. The shinobi in front of him simply gazed with dull eyes ahead. "If you take this, you swear to leave without blowing anything else up?" the Yondaime Hokage asked, his gaze narrow as if to catch any possible hint of a lie.

"If it's the real forbidden scroll, then of course," the shinobi replied, relaying Orochimaru's words.

The Anbu all tensed, but didn't mutter a word. This was the Hokage's decision, not theirs.

"What of Sasuke?" Minato pressed on.

"I didn't lie," Orochimaru's lackey smiled. "He can either come to me or die in a few years."

"I'm not going to hand him over to the likes of you," Minato hissed. "I want the cure."

"There isn't one," the shinobi replied. "Not being bitten would have probably worked out fine, but unfortunately that is now out of the question isn't it?"

"I understand," Minato growled. "I'll have Tsunade and Jiraiya look into it."

"Let them try, they won't be able to do anything," Orochimaru's lackey smiled even wider. "Now, hand over the scroll, Hokage-sama."

Minato flung the scroll, which the enemy shinobi grabbed tightly. The sound-ninja nodded after checking its authenticity, before the snake he stood upon began to slither away. "Do not pursue if you value what little remains of your village!" he yelled back.

"Hokage-sama," one of the Anbu said warily, waiting for an order to strike just like his colleagues.

"No, let him go," Minato replied softly. "Check the mentioned spots. Check every inch of the village, now!"

Slowly, the siege situation winded down as the last of the snakes puffed in smoke and disappeared. Shinku's breath evened out as he collapsed against a wall. The sun was slowly dying out, and as he wiped away the sweat from his forehead, he heard the typical noise of chakra-wings coming down close to him.

"Shinku-kun?" Fu asked, getting down on one knee next to him. "Are you all right?"

Shinku nodded weakly. "Just tired," he murmured back. "What's the problem?" he asked back, raising his head to meet the girl's concerned gaze. Fu shook her head.

"Nothing," she dropped her head against his shoulder, before jumping slightly back. "Ouch," she massaged her cheek slowly, warily eying the offending appendage.

"Uh-uh," Shinku chuckled lightly, tapping the reinforced shoulder. "I don't think it's a comfortable place to take a nap."

Fu pouted for a moment and then straddled his lap, turning around and dropping her head just below his chin. He could feel the wound on his back burn a bit, but he ignored the feeling. He felt at ease. He was without a home to return to, but in that moment, he was at ease.

His arms crossed around Fu's waist. The girl giggled. "Will you come and visit me in Taki soon?"

"As soon as I can," Shinku mumbled, "Maybe after this is over," he added. "I think Konoha will need all the men it can spare for a while."

Fu's eyes softened considerably, before she closed them and began to hum a little lullaby.

Meanwhile, just a few rooftops nearby, the rest of Team Seven convened.

"Situation?" Kakashi asked.

"I sent Fu," Yugao replied dryly. "How are we..."

"I was talking about the survivors," the Jounin replied with a sharp glare. "Concerning Shinku anyway, for now we do nothing," Kakashi stated plainly. "We wait and see. If he wants to talk about it, if he wants to share the burden, then we act. There's no need to treat him like a sick child. He's a shinobi."

"Kakashi-Nii? Is there really nothing we can do?" Naruko muttered. "Like…a hug? Hugs work, right?"

Sasuke remained silent. "He's already getting the hugs," he gestured with his head towards the forms of Shinku and Fu. "And a few kisses in there too…"

Naruko slammed a fist on Sasuke's head. "No Mangekyou recording," she snapped.

"I wasn't planning to!" Sasuke shot back.

"Yeah, yeah Duckbutt," Naruko's eyes narrowed. "I'm keeping an eye on you," she moved her face closer, "A really good eye on you."

"Enough," Kakashi snapped. "They'll probably start to empty the shelters soon enough. If you have the energies to banter, you have the strength to help around. There are people dying as we speak!"

The two Genin both stiffened at the stern lecture. "I know you're both exhausted," Kakashi added softly, "But unless you're wounded, try to make yourself helpful to the people around you."

The sound of wings fluttering caught Kakashi's ears, as Fu descended with Shinku in tow nearby. Naruko made a lecherous snicker, which turned Shinku's face slightly red.

"Very well," Kakashi said, "If we're done taking pauses," Shinku said nothing, but brought his gaze down in shame, "The key word is to help around as much as possible. Until you're too tired to even stand, help whoever you can. It will keep your mind off thinking too much."

Shinku's eyes widened briefly, before he grimaced and nodded to those words particularly jabbed in his direction.

By the time he collapsed on a dingy mattress laid on the ground of the nearby tent area, he didn't have any thought lingering through his brain at all. He was simply…too tired to care.

He didn't even wonder about the tournament's results. If he had passed…or not…they would tell him, eventually…he hoped…

Inner exhaled, gripping a kunai tightly and turning towards the quivering mass of screams and nightmares that poured through the gaps. "I hate overworking," he mumbled, "I hate it."

Shinku's sleep wasn't plagued by a single nightmare that night.

Then again, he hadn't slept much to begin with.

**Author's notes**

**No. This is not the Punch. This is the author grabbing the head of the muse and readying the GPEPIAC for full-out brunt delivery.**

**Once more, a different spin on the Invasion stuff. Rather than full-army out! Subtlety and stuff. And explosives. Who doesn't love explosives?** **Kabuto still in town…Wonderful!**


	47. Sorting Out Problems

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Seven

Shinku woke up to the noises of the tent camp coming to life. The realization of where he was and what the long day ahead of him had in wait made his face blanch carefully. His body moved automatically, his muscles and bones creaked under the strain of the hard night he had gone through. He felt as if he hadn't slept a wink —a tired side of him yawned into his mind as it finally succumbed to sleep.

Even though the siege had been very short, there still were casualties and missing people. A makeshift wooden panel stood at the centre of the camp, holding on to photos and names. 'Takeo, if you read this I'm in tent B-45'. 'Have you seen this girl?' another message went, scribbled furiously with shaky strokes.

A table nearby had a long line of people actually writing their messages, before carefully pinning them to the wooden panel.

He looked around, trying to find something to do —anything, really. Shinku neared a stiff looking medic-nin, who was barking out orders right and left.

"We need more water! Bring more to boiling point already! Try to find out if they scavenged some supplies from the hospital's ruins! There are lives at risk here!"

"Can I help?" Shinku asked, as the man turned towards him.

"Yes! Listen, I need you to head over to the hospital and check if they got out something. Any storage scroll will do since we're strapped with the emergency supplies," the medic-nin turned to bark another order. "Bring them back here as fast as you can, understood?"

Shinku nodded and was off. He knew where the hospital was —if anything, he was literally at home in the place most of the time. Walking through the destruction, he didn't waste a moment looking around and simply passed quickly past the working shinobi.

The rubbles of the hospital greeted him after a few minutes of walking. It was early in the morning, but some shinobi were still hard at work bringing out corpses from the rubble and moving things to the side. The black plastic bags that lined up the nearby ground were too many to count…and more than a few seemed only half-filled.

"You done sightseeing?" a gruff voice snapped him back towards the closest shinobi, an Anbu wearing a bear mask.

"You found any medical supplies or storage scrolls? The guys at the tent camp could use them now," Shinku replied.

"We've got to check them for time-delayed explosives," the Anbu replied, "You want to help, go swap with one of the guys down there. They've been at it all night digging out the bodies," he gestured towards the line of shinobi with sunken eyes and bleeding hands, "And they could use some rest."

He did just that.

That was how Kakashi found him. He found him carrying out of the rubble a small and squishy blanket-covered thing that he cradled in his arms. The silver-haired Jounin didn't say a word as he watched the boy hand over the corpse to the nearby medic-nin, who grimly shook his head and placed it inside another black bag.

It was just another half-filled black bag.

Kakashi gave a nod to Bear, before moving towards Shinku and dropping a hand on his shoulder. "You all right in there?"

"They're digging the maternity ward out," Shinku replied quietly. "That's…that's the fifth body I found."

"You're requested in the Hokage's office," Kakashi said calmly, his voice neither carefree nor concerned. "You caught some shut-eye?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Not much, but some."

They began to walk towards the tower, Shinku's eyes downcast. "T-They were…shouldn't there…"

"The hospital blew up too fast to do anything," Kakashi replied. "It blew from below and from above. There was no way out but flinging oneself out from the sides just in time, and with the speed the explosion occurred only a shinobi with extremely fast reflexes would have managed such a feat. The maternity ward where the children are kept does not have windows to begin with," the man looked up to the sky. "We were lucky. There weren't many births this month."

"It was the fifth body," Shinku replied softly.

"Ah, I once dug out a pregnant woman from some rubble, in a small village across the border with Iwa. A rock lance had skewered her from side to side in her stomach. It was disgusting to even watch," Kakashi replied calmly, "But you grow jaded to it. There's just so much sick you can take before you simply stop caring."

"Should we really stop caring?"

"Yes, you both should," Kakashi said. "I can't say I understand what your mind rambles on about, but you can't stop death from happening. When it comes, it comes. You can only watch until it's your turn."

"You don't seem to care much about us being…us."

"I've seen stranger things. Like a grown man wearing a bright green spandex, going around screaming about the fires of youth," Kakashi deadpanned back. "I have seen the horrors of barbed wire sticking into the skin of crying children my same age, clawing at it and digging themselves just a deeper pit in the mud to choke in their own blood," he added. "You never forget the screams, the bodies, the blood or the feeling of the rain sticking to your skin as you watch the ground turn to mud and the blood slowly slither its way towards your own hole."

"Is that why you hate the rain?"

"Among other things," Kakashi chuckled. "It always rains when something bad happens to me," the man shrugged.

The moment Shinku opened the door of the Hokage office, he was grabbed by a fast orange and green blur that made his head spin until something was pushed down around his body —and his armour.

"Shin-chan! We did it! We all did it!" Naruko exclaimed loudly, and the moment his eyes stopped spinning Shinku realized what was going on. His jacket now had green on it. His dark brown and red jacket now had green on it.

He had green.

He had the flak jacket.

He had the jacket.

He, the dead last of the academy, had the jacket.

He. Had. The. Jacket.

The Jacket was his. He had it. He was…he was a Chuunin. He had the jacket. The jacket! The jacket was his!

"Breathe," Sasuke said next to him, "You're hyperventilating," the boy added. "Deep breaths," the Uchiha said while moving his head up and down to follow his own breathing.

"Ohi!" Naruko yelled, "You know what this calls for? A picture!" she proceeded to summon from one of her storage seals a camera, before placing it on a nearby desk.

"You didn't do a team one already?" Minato asked.

Kakashi chuckled nervously. "I might have forgotten about it…"

"Kakashi," Minato sighed, rolling his eyes as his lips twitched upwards. "I'll take care of making the picture, Naruko," he gripped the camera from the desk, "Now stand in formation with the back towards the village. Let's make it scenic while we're at it."

Awkwardly, Shinku obeyed. He didn't know why, but he found himself standing in the middle. Soon, Naruko's arm crossed past his shoulders, while Sasuke did the same on the other side. Obeying a silent order, Shinku's arms both went past his teammates' shoulders. Kakashi dropped his own hands on the heads of Naruko and Sasuke, showing a smile through his mask.

Sasuke made a small smirk in preparation for the picture. Naruko grinned widely. Shinku's lips parted in a small smile.

The flash came, and the photo moment was done.

"Yes!" Naruko blurred to grab the camera, "Now we need one with the extended team! Where's Yugao-sensei and Fu-chan?"

"Ah," Minato sighed. "This is also the reason I called you here. We're currently short on manpower as I have the reserves deal with the aftermath of the siege. I'm giving out your official first B-rank right this moment. You will have to escort some important dignitaries back to the capital," he added. "Uzuki-san was reinstated in Anbu out of her own accord," he added softly, "and Shibuki-san left first thing in the morning with Fu, refusing an escort."

"WHAT!?" Sasuke _yelled_, his hands closing into fists as everyone gazed at the Uchiha as if he had grown a second head. "What the hell! No! What about the glorious goodbye of the departed lovers!? There had to be rose petals, and tears, and the sunset!" Sasuke wailed. "I had to see that! Why!? WHY!?"

"Ohi, duckbutt," Naruko muttered. "You're scaring the hell out of me," she added.

Shinku's lips twitched in a nervous smile. His eyes went to his right hand quietly. The back of the insect was a bright strawberry red. Well, at least, as long as he had that he knew she'd be alive.

Depending on how things went, it wouldn't take much to be stationed in Taki.

"Therefore, while I normally would assign a team of full Jounin, you will have to do," Minato's lips parted in a smile. "I cannot stress the importance of the nobles and dignitaries to arrive whole and unscathed to the capital."

Kakashi nodded. "When are we leaving?"

"I'm giving you one hour to collect what you might need. The nobles' carriages will be waiting at the Northern Gate."

Kakashi hummed his agreement. "You heard the Hokage, one hour, northern gate, don't be late."

"Right, right," Naruko mumbled. "Dad's already getting rid of us, I know," she moved to leave.

"Can you remain behind for a moment, Shinku?" the second the Hokage said that, a cold chill crept through the boy's spine.

"Ohi," Naruko's eyes narrowed, stilling midway towards the door, "What do you want with Shin-chan, dad?"

"That's a private matter," Minato Namikaze replied. Kakashi hummed a bit more. "Wait outside."

Naruko pouted. "Fine! But if I hear Shin-chan cry, I'm breaking the door!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Let's go before you further embarrass yourself, Dobe," the Uchiha gave one soft look at Shinku and one hard and nigh murderous one at Kakashi, before pulling out his teammate.

The door closed with a soft click, and Minato clasped his hands together.

"Your sensei forwarded to me an application to grant you entry in the Anbu evaluation stage," the Hokage said. "As with all Anbu applications, the Hokage is the one who personally takes charge of evaluating the individual's skills and whether he or she is able-bodied for the training regime and course."

Minato Namikaze's voice grew softer. "Some trainees do die in the initial training regime, which is held in the Forest of Death for an entire month," the man exhaled. "It is a long and gruelling job, which requires unfaltering loyalty to the village and to the Hokage," he then turned towards Kakashi. "Personally, I wouldn't allow this even in a thousand years, considering how you're too young. Your sensei seems to disagree."

"Itachi Uchiha enrolled in Anbu when he was ten and became captain at thirteen," Kakashi replied. "I say my little soldier started late, if anything."

"Kakashi," Minato said just one word, but with enough heat in the tone to make the silver-haired Jounin silent.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"It does not mean you will enter Anbu on a _permanent_ basis, since it's the Hokage who decides the active numbers of Anbu operatives. It means you will be considered _qualified_ for Anbu work however, and might be called to perform at any moment," Minato continued. "I doubt Anbu is the place for you," he added, "But ultimately, the choice is yours. Anbu is an extra; it doesn't change your team placement or the missions you will do with your team. It will insert you in a roster and grant you access to the Anbu facilities around Konoha and the location of the Anbu caches in the Land of Fire," the Yondaime caught his breath, "It also means I might cut short your time in Taki, if you're still interested in being sent there."

Minato's lips twitched upwards. "After your Chuunin christening B-rank, I did plan on sending Team Seven to Takigakure," he inclined his head to gaze sideways at Kakashi. "Provided nothing happens along the way that might cause a diplomatic accident…"

Kakashi sighed.

"How could I have known the young impressionable girl was the Daimyo's favourite concubine?"

"C-Can I think about it?" Shinku muttered quietly, "I d-didn't know about this and…"

"Of course," Minato nodded. "Now that this is out of the way, there is another matter to deal with," the Yondaime thrummed his fingers on his desk. "Do you have a place to stay?"

Shinku blinked. "H-How?"

Kakashi hummed. "I might have overheard."

Shinku bristled, his eyes moving sharply towards Kakashi with a glare. "You eavesdropped."

"Yep," Kakashi nodded.

"Kakashi just did what a normal sensei is meant to do, Shinku," Minato said, "Which is surprising, considering Kakashi is Kakashi, but it's the truth. Do you need a place to stay? I have to look at the apartments that are still standing and assign the empty rooms due to the situation at hand anyway, so now is the time…and I thought you didn't want to speak of this with your teammates present."

Shinku warily nodded, "Y-Yes, I…I'll need a place."

"Very well," Minato rummaged through his desk's upper drawer. "I already took the liberty of assigning it to you anyway, due to Kakashi's insistence. I am starting to suspect he acts like a sensei only when he has to scare me," the Hokage chuckled, before throwing a key with a piece of paper attached in Shinku's direction.

The boy fumbled a moment, but managed to catch the key.

He eyed it warily, before gazing at the paper that had both the street name and the number of the apartment written on it.

"If you need anything," Minato said, "You know you just have to ask, right?"

"W-Why?" he croaked out. "I mean…why is the Hokage—"

"Ah, Inoichi asked me the same question," Minato replied with a smile on his lips. "If you ever have any doubt on your true worth, know that very few people would have the same instinct of self-sacrifice that you possess. It's twice you saved my daughter's life by now, and that is a debt I can hardly ever repay."

"I was just…"

"It doesn't change what you did, Shinku," Minato whispered softly. "Frankly, the only reason Fugaku hasn't thanked you yet is because he —hearing my daughter's words— has a stick so big up his ass he'd need a lumberjack to cut it down to size."

Shinku nodded, before grimacing. "Did I really deserve the jacket?" he asked in the end.

"Yes," Minato replied without a shred of doubt. "Some people might whisper that it was favouritism, others might say you bought it, but it's not the truth. You earned that jacket the day you decided to place the wellbeing of your teammates above the rules and the regulations, the day you chose to do what had to be done rather than what was right, and, frankly, if anyone should actually be accused of being favourite…that would be Naruko," Minato sighed. "She really isn't ready to _lead_ a team."

Kakashi chuckled. "It's going to be fun to watch at least."

Minato delivered a sour look towards Kakashi. "While I enjoy making small talk, you should really start preparing. The trip to the capital will take a few days, you know?"

Shinku stood ramrod straight and nodded firmly, "H-Hai!" and then he dashed out of the door.

Minato's gaze settled on Kakashi. "He isn't Anbu material, Kakashi."

"Oh no, I agree," Kakashi's eye twinkled. "_He_ isn't, but the _other_ him? I would really enjoy seeing him in action."

"How's he taking everything?" Minato mumbled.

"He'll be fine, sensei," Kakashi replied. "He kicked a bit of a fuss at first but he accepted it pretty quickly. I'm sure there won't be any complications."

Minato closed his eyes. "For your own sake, I hope so."

Kakashi flickered away. Minato groaned, and returned to the papers he now had to triple-check before signing.

Shinku's house, strangely defying expectations, was still standing. He entered directly from the window of his room. Shinku didn't say a word as he collected his bags and pulled everything of 'his' inside. If he was fast enough, he could drop everything in the new apartment and be done with it before the start of the mission.

"Ohi, Shin-chan!" he froze at the voice, "Me and Duck-Butt are ready! What t—"

Naruko barrelled in a moment later, soon followed by Sasuke. "Why are you packing all that stuff? It's just going to be a few days," she inclined her head. "And why aren't you using the seal scroll I gave you, uh?"

"I used it as a fire source when I got lost in Takigakure's underground cave," he replied dutifully. "And..."

Sasuke snorted. "You didn't want to make a nuisance of yourself and didn't ask for another, right?"

Shinku blinked, before nodding.

"That's just like you," the Uchiha chuckled, shaking his head. "Naruko can make these things in a couple of hours. She has dozens stacked everywhere," he pointed at the girl who was rummaging through her pockets, "Really, I'm scared of using chakra in her room for fear of opening a storage seal with garbage inside."

"Ohi! My room is very clean!" Naruko pouted, "It's always clean!"

"Because you seal everything in a storage seal, and then forget about it," Sasuke retorted. "One day those seals are going to fail and you'll wake up surrounded by garbage."

"I won't," Naruko stuck out her tongue. "Well, let's see…" she opened one of her storage scrolls, letting half-a dozen cups of ramen —yet to cook— clatter on the floor. "Here ya go Shin-chan! Pour chakra in and it's done!"

Shinku dutifully obeyed. "I nearly forgot, I'll need some of your pants too!"

The boy stopped and gazed with perplexity at Naruko's lecherous gaze. The girl snickered. "You don't want a seal in your pocket? You can summon stuff from it and then suffer from the old 'is that a kunai or are you happy to see me' joke! It's guaranteed to—"

Sasuke slammed a fist on Naruko's head. "More than punching your stupid, I think I should use salt to exorcise it."

"So, why are you emptying the room Shin-chan?" Naruko asked with her voice carefree as she cracked her knuckles absentmindedly.

"I'm relocating," he replied quietly. "It's nothing to—"

A headbutt landed him on the floor wincing. "Now, Shin-chan, I told you once. I told you twice," Naruko gripped him by the scruff of the neck, "And I told you thrice. I dislike people who lie to themselves. You can come out with the problem, or I can get to the root of it through headbutts."

"I don't have to tell you all of my problems," Shinku hissed back. "And this isn't a problem," he added, his hands gripping Naruko's arms. "So let me go," he said with his eyes narrow and stern.

"Ohi, murder-happy Shin-chan," Naruko growled back, "You don't get it, do you? It's not that you have to tell me your problems, it's that you _should_. We're teammates. We shoulder our problems together. You. Don't. Get. To. Sulk. Alone:"

"Really? Then why don't we start with _your_ problems?" Shinku snarled back, "Little miss sunshine and daisies can't stay in the same room as a Hyuga without starting to growl, I wonder why," he hissed. "What's your problem, uh?"

The grip tightened to the point of making Shinku's neck painfully contract. "Yeah," Naruko mumbled suddenly, "I suppose…fair's fair," she looked at him, "But I don't want any more excuses from you, murder-happy Shin-chan. I tell you, you tell me," she said firmly. "And if you don't, I headbutt you again."

"I'm…all…ears," Inner choked out.

"Dobe, you're suffocating him!" Sasuke barked. Naruko opened her palms and shuddered.

"S-Sorry," she mumbled. "A-Anyway," she clenched her hands in fists as Shinku massaged his throat. "Fine! You want to know? I'll tell ya," she brought her hands to her hips. "My problem with that _bitch_ is that she's a filthy, little _liar_ who doesn't care about making friends, but only about doing what her father tells her to do. If there's one thing I hate it's people who lie to themselves, Shin-chan, and frankly? If you have to become my friend because your father says so and you don't like half the things I do but never have the balls to say so to my face," Naruko hissed, "Then why the hell are you still my friend to begin with? You aren't my friend. It's simple."

Naruko took a step forward, "Now it's your turn."

"What? Only that?" Shinku replied with a snap, "You barely said anything. So the Hyuga lied to you and suddenly you want to rip her throat out?"

"She didn't just lie," Naruko growled, "She admitted she became friends with me because her father wanted to! It's different! Friends don't become friends because they're forced! They become friends when they like being with each other!"

"So, you hate to death that girl because her father coerced her into becoming your friend? How screwed up is that way of thinking, uh?" Shinku retorted.

"Oh no, it's not," Naruko grumbled. "I asked her, you know? I asked her if she would have been my friend even without her father's pressure. You know her answer? She shook her damn mousy head! If she hadn't been pushed, I probably wouldn't even know her frigging name!" Naruko slammed her right foot on the floor, "And you want to know something even funnier? That thieving, conniving, blind-looking bitch had the guts to try to tell me it was _political_. A scrawny shoddy whore telling me it was because of the clan that she had to play nice," Naruko smirked.

"I showed her playing nice. I don't care about being friends with people who think about politics —I'm not really that stupid, give me some credit— but my friends are _mine_. You don't get to mess with them as long as they're under my watch. If someone messes with Uke-chan, I prank the culprit until he starts wishing to be _dead_. The sound team messed with you, and I taught them a lesson. It's simple murder-happy Shin-chan. You don't mess with my friends. So, now, what's _your_ problem?"

"You have some loose screws," Shinku deadpanned, "Really loose."

"I make up for it with my bubbly personality," Naruko smiled brightly, "Now," her smile disappeared. "Who's messing with the not-murder-happy Shin-chan?"

"No one," Shinku replied carefully, "He was disowned, I suppose."

Naruko closed her eyes for a moment, "Why?"

"Our mother believes we killed our father by some twisted sense of logic," Shinku said. "She's grieving, probably. I said some things I didn't really mean, and when they ended up happening she took it by heart. End result is that I've got to move this stuff to the new apartment before we head over for the mission to the capital."

"That's…that's bullshit! It's…how could she? I'm," Naruko brought a fist in the air, "I'm slapping that bitch down to size! I don't know about Murder-Happy Shin-chan," Shinku's right eyebrow twitched. Was she really using that as a nickname for Inner? "But Shin-chan would never say anything bad! So here and now, I'm solving this problem once and for all!"

With that, she began to stomp her way out of Shinku's room. "Shin-chan's mom! Come on out you old hag!"

Shinku gave a pleading look to Sasuke, who nodded. Thankfully, the house appeared empty, and so Naruko was subdued without much of a fuss. A gagged and bound Naruko ended up deposited in front of the northern gate a few minutes later, while Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his chest and gazed at the girl with a look that could probably murder her.

"You calmed down enough, Dobe?"

Naruko groaned, before biting at the rope in her mouth. "B-But!" she spluttered out, "Shin-chan's mom is a hag! Come on! She needs some therapy! Shin-chan wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Dobe," Sasuke sighed, "You know you can't just barge in people's lives like this, right?"

"Why not? When someone needs help you should help, right?" Naruko inclined her head to the side.

"You have the grace of a sledgehammer," Sasuke retorted. "Look, you heard Kakashi yesterday. People need time and space to properly grief, you can't just…barge in immediately."

"It worked with you," Naruko crossed her arms over her chest.

"I had a week of alone moping and thought-thinking," Sasuke retorted. "Can't you cut Shinku some slack?"

"Fine, fine," Naruko raised her hands in the air. "One week of moping Shin-chan, of sniffling Shin-chan, of whimpering Shin-chan, and then, when your heart will break because of the sadness that is a tear-filled Shin-chan, I will look at you and say 'This is what you wanted! Now enjoy a sad Shin-chan!'…and then I will headbutt you."

"Are you done?" Sasuke raised his right eyebrow.

Naruko pouted, moving her head sideways. "Family shouldn't fight."

Sasuke choked the rambling sound of his next words in his throat.

"I should have written a letter," Naruko mumbled. "Something like 'make peace or I'll snap your legs'."

"What are you, a Yakuza?" Sasuke retorted. "And I think that would account to blackmail."

Shinku returned just a couple of minute from departure, when already the first carriages were waiting near the gate. He fidgeted for a moment, gazing low.

"Ohi, Shin-chan," Naruko exclaimed, "Don'tcha worry, I'm not angry," the girl smiled. "Murder-Happy Shin-chan's gone back in his little hidey hole?"

Shinku nodded awkwardly.

Sasuke sighed. "Now let's hope Kakashi won't arrive late."

"Uh…by the way," Naruko smirked, "What did you and dad have to talk about?" the girl wriggled her eyebrows, "some Konoha and Taki stuff?"

"Ah…no," Shinku scratched the back of his head. "Kakashi vouched for me entering the Anbu training."

"Oh," Naruko blinked. There was a moment of silence as the girl looked around as if lost, as if Shinku hadn't said anything and she was still waiting for the words to come out. Then, calmly, she looked back at him. "He did what?" she asked softly.

"Apparently, there's an Anbu specific training that you need to be vouched for in order to participate," Shinku replied, embarrassed. "I didn't accept though. I'll have to give an answer after this mission."

"Very well," Naruko grumbled. She stomped off towards the head of the procession.

"What's the…"

Sasuke looked at Shinku for an instant, before replying. "I think she'll murder Kakashi in his sleep," he looked sideways. "I think I'll go and sharpen my blade. I might need it soon."

"You know I'm not a kid, right?" Shinku muttered, "I don't need to be babied."

"Sorry, it's a package deal. Comes with risking your life to save ours," Sasuke shrugged. "We're returning the favour."

Shinku shuddered. He knew they were going to treat him differently, but he didn't expect the…the _babying_. He could take care of himself!

Kakashi arrived right on time, and soon the carriages departed.

The silver-haired Jounin hummed a pleasant tune as he took the lead, flipping through the pages of the Icha-Icha half-boringly. A cold, dark chill ran across his spine.

"Neh, Kakashi-Nii," Naruko said, slowly appearing from his side. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Do you like reading porn?"

Kakashi inclined his head to the side. "Yes, very much."

"Good, that's good. You wouldn't, perhaps, want to see it burn, right?"

"I hid it in a spot you will never find," Kakashi replied, his voice suddenly serious and his eyes attentive. "You cannot blackmail me, Naruko-chan."

"No, no, you misunderstand Kakashi-Nii," Naruko smiled brightly. "I thought about letting Sasuke buy a few Icha-Icha and then blaming it on you. I'm sure Mikoto-Bachan will love to hear your excuses for corrupting poor little Uke-chan."

"Name your price," Kakashi grumbled.

Naruko smiled even more. "I want in on the Anbu training if Shin-chan choses to go —add Uke-chan too, he'll probably swing around later.."

"Why is that?" Kakashi replied.

"Duh," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Because where one of us goes, we all follow. That's what a team is, right?"

Kakashi closed his only eye and sighed.

"You rehearsed this?"

"Five minutes ago," Naruko nodded brightly. "So?"

"I'll have to think about it," Kakashi replied. "I'll need your word you'll stop blackmailing me with burning my porn collection down however."

"Fine," Naruko shrugged. "I can always blackmail you into chopping it, or putting it in water or something similar…or maybe covering it in paper-eating insects or…"

Naruko rambled on through the many means of destroying porn, while Kakashi began to ignore her halfway through.

Everything was going according to plan. Three little Chuunin went into Anbu training for one month, he got a month of free good old 'do nothing and laze around'. Then, once they returned, it would be a simple fact of letting them 'self-study' the beauties of being Chuunin and leading teams.

He'd get some well-earned sleep. A few months of peace at a minimum —he was sure of it!

Meanwhile, Minato proceeded to see to the departure f the other ambassadors and Kage from the foreign villages that had come to watch the tournament.

"You train your Anbu well," Zabuza grumbled from his spot at the side of the Mizukage. "I couldn't go anywhere without one following me like the plague," the swordsman of the mist chuckled. "To think I wanted to talk with the brat," the man sighed. "I'm sure there will be another time."

Minato's eyebrows twitched. "Why all this interest in one of my shinobi, Momochi?"

"You need a reason to like someone?" Zabuza chuckled. "He's got nice eyes."

"Are you hearing yourself? You sound like a sick paedophile, Zabuza," Mei remarked dryly. "What next, you'll write him a love letter?"

"You want to start something, bitch?" Zabuza growled back.

"Quiet, the both of you," Yagura said crisply. "We'll take our leave before these two further embarrass the Mist."

With a light bow, the three were gone —escorted by a group of Konoha Anbu towards the border.

Minato turned towards the Kazekage's group, and his lips twitched into a nervous smile. The Kazekage's two oldest children were extremely pale, as they were holding on to the youngest one's hands. The Kage of Suna said nothing, but he did inch a bit farther from the trio.

"The sooner I get back to Suna, the sooner I can forget what madness this tournament was all about," he replied crisply.

"Have a nice trip," Minato replied with a half-forced smile.

They were gone in a twirl of sand —and with an Anbu escort— a moment later.

Minato wiped away the sweat from his forehead, before giving a curt nod to another Anbu near him. The Anbu nodded back and flickered away.

Now it was all a matter of Orochimaru taking the bait and swallowing it whole. Really, who wouldn't try to attack the Daimyo's court returning to the capital? With Sasuke in clear sight and out of Konoha's walls…he had no doubts Orochimaru would strike, which was why he flashed away, to reappear inside one of the carriages henged as a portly man…just like the rest of the 'nobles' who were nothing less than Anbu, the lot of them.

He'd catch that snake once and for all, and when he did…he'd teach him a lesson. Nobody attacked Konoha with him as Hokage, nobody!

**Author's notes**

**Naruko is a bit creepy. Sasuke is the usual cool-head. Kakashi is loving every moment of mind-fuck he can make.**

**Shinku is happy. He has the Jacket. He's happy. Right? He's happy. Everything is fine. Everything. Is. Fine.**


	48. Unfortunate Circumstances Bleed Through

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Eight

"You're feeling all right, Shin-chan?" Shinku's right eyebrow twitched.

"Want to take a rest, Shin-chan?" his right hand clenched in a fist.

"Don't overexert yourself, Shin-chan!" he bit his tongue.

"Doesn't your armour feel heavy? Are you drinking enough? You know it's not good to let your body go dry, but you can't drink too much or you'll end up going for a bathroom break too soon."

Shinku gazed at Naruko a moment later. "I. Am. Fine."

Naruko blinked. "You sure?"

"Yes," he hissed out, "Really."

"You know, you don't have to hold it in. You can tell everything to your beautiful teammate Naru-chan."

"I would very much like it if you stopped trying to baby me," Shinku dryly muttered.

Naruko blinked once more. "Oh, all right. You want to sit on the carriage's roof?"

Shinku's hands wringed themselves upwards as his throat emitted a constricted garbled sound. It had already been two hours. Two hours of Naruko fussing and asking if he needed anything ranging from food to water. He didn't need that sort of attention. It wasn't just embarrassing —considering the nobles in the carriages that he swore were enjoying the scene— but it was also completely unneeded.

"When are you going to stop worrying?" he finally exhaled.

"I'm not worrying," Naruko replied with a light hum. "Want a wool cap? It's getting windy recently."

Shinku spluttered, before opting for simply falling quiet. He gazed at his right hand once more, and then sighed. The bug was bright red. Everything was fine.

The carriages pulled past the forest and onto the plain, which stretched for quite a bit throughout the Land of Fire. Rice fields gently gave way to small hills and cobblestone paths, as villagers who worked the land moved close to the road to watch the procession pass by.

Sasuke scratched the side of his neck where the curse mark was, his eyes trailing around to the farmers and their families. A few women stuck their heads out of the nearby mud and wood huts to gaze at the carriages passing by, while they held back their children from running towards the horses.

The day went by quietly. The sun slowly began to die as Kakashi gave the order to camp for the night. The nobles' servants apparently had all they needed to set up an elaborate makeshift kitchen.

"Shin-chan can do the first shift," Naruko piped in. "Uke-chan can take the second and I can have the third."

"No," Kakashi hummed with his eye-smile. "You will go to sleep before I wring your neck myself," the silver-haired Jounin said. "Understood?"

Naruko swallowed nervously, before preparing to hold her ground.

"It's enough," Shinku said calmly. "Really," he looked towards Naruko. "I…I appreciate the thought, but I'm not made of glass. I'm fine. Everything is fine. So, please, stop." Maybe it was the pleading tone, but Naruko backed off.

"Fine," she mumbled. "But I'm keeping an eye out on you!" and with that, she stormed off to sleep.

"She never knows when to stop," Sasuke exhaled, "She can get annoying sometimes, but she's not…well, you know how she is by now, right?"

"Yeah," Shinku muttered back. "I suppose I do."

"You'll do the middle watch," Kakashi gestured towards Shinku. "I'll do the first one, so go and get some sleep. Sasuke, you'll do the third."

Shinku and Sasuke both nodded back, before heading over to 'their' area of rest. The nobles had some tents pitched up, and apparently had begun partying and loudly drinking —as if they enjoyed attracting the attention of the entire countryside. There was nothing, but the lull of the wind against the rice stalks and the tree branches all around the small campfire nestled in a corner and covered by rocks. It was like camping, only with the risk of ambush at any moment by some wandering shinobi.

Shinku's nose twitched, as he smelled the proverbial odour of ramen in the air. He wondered how his teammate could keep on eating the same thing without ever growing bored of it.

"Kakashi's doing first shift," Sasuke said as Naruko gave a nod in their direction. "Shinku does the second and I go third."

"Kakashi-Nii sucks," Naruko mumbled, before wiping away a smudge of ramen from her lips. A ramen cup ended up in his hands and as Sasuke pretty much suffered the same fate, with a sigh, they all set to eat their dinner while just a few steps away he was sure the nobles were eating something way different than cup ramen —probably caviar or something like that.

"When was it any different?" Sasuke grumbled. "Grab some sleep," and with that, the Uchiha literally dropped to the side and pulled the sleeping bag over his head. Naruko pouted, before doing the same. Shinku imitated the other two, his gaze went up towards the twinkling sky for a moment more —the moon was so bright— and as he did, his eyes slowly closed.

Inner gazed into the massive shredded pools of limbs and scattered blood splatters that stretched throughout the desert of bloodied sand. He took a deep shuddering breath. "This is your entire fault!" they screamed. "Just a failure in the end!" they snarled.

"For the love of…Shut. Up!" Inner snarled as he pounced once more on the nightmares. He wouldn't sleep a wink that night too, he supposed.

Waking came all too early. "Your turn," Kakashi muttered, his right hand gripping Shinku's shoulder as his left stilled his wrist. Shinku's left hand had palmed the Kirigakure kunai in a flash, and had apparently been in the direction of Kakashi's sides by the time the Jounin had stopped the attack. "Nice reflexes."

"Busy night in here," Shinku grumbled back, slowly standing up. The camp was quiet and not even a dim light remained outside. The tents filled with bright shadows, moving around and talking. Nobles probably didn't have anything else to do but to talk.

He flexed his fingers as he took a spot atop a nearby tree, using the branches as cover. From his position, he could see the tents and the nearby surroundings. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, before stifling a yawn. He actually wondered how he was supposed to count the passing of time —maybe by the position of the stars or the shadows cast by the moon's light.

His breathing evened out. Something wet fell down his cheek. It rolled down his chin and dropped on the bark of the branch. Shinku bit his lips, gripping on the sides of the branch with his fingers.

His father was dead. He would never return to his home. A sniffle escaped his nose. He would never wake up in his bed again. He wouldn't read any post-it, he wouldn't be heading over to the bakery any longer. He would have to buy his own groceries. He'd have to clean the room —the apartment was thankfully a one-room thing— and pay the bills by himself.

He wondered, really, what did he have to do for life to let him be?

He wiped away his tears, taking a deep breath as he steadied himself on the branch a bit more. He had a mission to do. He couldn't waste his time in thinking about other things. He couldn't get distracted. This mission was a B-rank. It meant there could be at any moment a potential shinobi attack.

He had to remain concentrated.

The wind blew softly throughout the night —the only noise Shinku heard except for the nobles' bantering and then subsequent snoring. There wasn't anything else. He watched the moon slowly move in the night sky, until he quietly decided he had waited long enough.

The sun was going to rise in just a couple of hours. He stretched carefully, gripping on the side of the tree as he descended it. He returned to the camp as silently as possible, before kneeling next to the sleeping Uchiha.

"Sasuke," he whispered.

The Uchiha actually opened his eyes in less than a split second, before groaning lightly. "My watch already?"

"Yes."

Sasuke deftly stood and left for yet another spot to watch over. Shinku crawled back into his sleeping bag, and returned to sleep.

When Shinku woke up again, it was to the sound of a deafening explosion. His kunai slammed home into something the moment he stood from his rucksack, his eyes wide and his breath laboured. The sides of a _Sound_ shinobi turned red with blood. The man gurgled, eying him with wide eyes and a kunai in hand.

Near him, he could hear a punch connect with a man's jaw and the cracking of bones. A giant snake slithered its way across the ground, tearing apart the nobles' tents and leaving behind a long trench in the ground. There weren't any screams of fear, any indication that there were scared civilians anywhere, but the roaring fire that stuck out like a sore thumb through the small patch of trees and the sparks given by kunai meeting kunai told another story.

It wasn't a carnage. No, if anything it seemed a fought out battle between two sides.

He found himself grabbed by the shoulders, Naruko's face appearing wide-eyed right in front of his. "Ohi! Shin-chan! We've got to move and find Uke-chan!"

Another explosion came terribly close, as a bright flash of light blinded him. He found himself hoisted over Naruko's shoulder before he could even react.

"I'm getting you out of here!" Naruko yelled, "We'll find Uke-chan!" the girl ran, until some sort of great pressure —probably a wind technique— tore through the ground nearby and sent her and Shinku flying.

She popped with the typical sound of a Kage Bunshin, but he ended up rolling on the ground with his sight unfocused. There wasn't a clear picture. It was an ambush. The enemy was Sound. How many enemies were there? Where were the nobles? Was he supposed to go back? It was a B-rank, right?

Enemy shinobi were expected. His duty was to be ready and die for the clients. He gripped the grass with his fingers, turning his head around. There still were black spots in his vision, and what little he saw seemed to dance around, but he did see a large yellow projectile soar the air and strike a…an Anbu, apparently, straight in the guts.

The masked shinobi twisted in mid-air, the blow piercing him from side to side and letting him fall on the ground bleeding to his death.

There was an archer somewhere. There were Anbu escorting them.

He didn't hear many sounds, the explosions' lingering noise kept his eardrums ringing. He got back on his feet, holding a hand to his forehead to wipe away…there was blood trickling down from the side of his head.

His heart drummed. His breathing grew ragged.

_**MOVE.**_

He ran straight ahead, his head low and grounding his teeth. He jumped for the nearest tree, landing on its branch and pushing his left hand against the trunk to swing behind it. A moment later, and a volley of shuriken sailed right where he would have been.

They were aiming at the stragglers first. He jumped down the tree, hiding behind its trunk on the ground just as the upper side was torn apart cleanly by a rock the size of a human. He gripped his kunai, looking around for any sort of clue on what he had to do now. Did he have orders? Did he have a directive? Was there something he had to do?

He was the Chuunin now, wasn't he? Didn't he get some sort of clue on what a Chuunin did? What were they expecting from him? Did they think it was easy to just 'be' a Chuunin!?

_**DOWN!**_

He fell on the ground just as the lower side of the trunk ended uprooted by a giant earth spike. The tree's roots dangled in front of him covered in dirt and lifting a light sheen of dust.

He didn't think he could outrun his enemies.

His body twisted with the strength of desperation as he changed the trajectory of his charge. He slammed his right foot against the earth spike to propel himself across the ground, holding his body low and the kunai at the ready. He couldn't see anything, but he wondered if taking a technique to the chest would be a better death than taking one in the back.

The ground trembled and broke behind him. The enemy had expected him to keep on running, so he had actually earned a few seconds of respite.

A Sound ninja charged at him from the side, flanked by his two teammates. Shinku pushed his arms up, covering his face as he felt the kunai stab at him in the chest and in the flanks. The metallic plates absorbed the impact, but the brunt strength of it astounded him and forced him to let go of his kunai.

_**THRUST.**_

His right arm went right and his left arm went left. His fingers dug into the shinobi's faces as he screamed in fear and rage. He slammed them both against one another, _crushing their skulls_. Blood and grey matter splattered on his face as he pushed his entire body forward, his head slamming strongly against the third one.

The air still lacked from his lungs, but he managed to grip onto the man's mottled scarf and pull him closer to him. His _teeth_ dug into the creature's, snarling as he bit and ripped. Blood sprayed from the wound as Shinku pushed the bleeding shinobi away. The Sound ninja stumbled for a moment, before falling on the ground.

"Why do I even bother?" a male voice remarked. "Trash will be trash, always," a pale haired teen wearing a long grey robe with a strange looking sash tied around his waist appeared in the edge of Shinku's waning vision. Did…did he have some sort of lump on his back?

"You look interesting," the voice said, "What's your name, trash?"

Shinku shuddered, taking a deep breath. He could breathe now. For a short while, he could assess the situation and find a way out.

"What's yours?" he replied.

"Trash thinks he has guts," the teen said. There was a blur of speed, and the next instant a barrage of blows connected with his stomach. "Let's tenderize them!"

Shinku's body doubled over as his mouth opened, spewing out bile and blood. Now, now in that instant, he really would have loved some help.

"And the grand final," two left and two right arms slammed on both of Shinku's sides, propelling him backwards with his back slamming against the rock lance he had passed by before. The rock cracked as Shinku screamed in pain, coughing and raggedly breathing. The jacket couldn't help him against blunt attacks like those fists —which felt heavy as lead.

What sort of monster was he fighting?

A dark yellow lance flied through the air next, directed towards him. His body instinctively twisted to the side, ignoring the atrocious agony that coursed through his entire being. Instead of piercing his heart, the lance-like arrow slammed into his left arm shattering the bone and sticking him to the rock.

He screamed in utter pain as he saw the blood spray out of his unresponsive limb.

"Well," the sound teen smirked. "We can have some fun now, can't we?"

The first fist slammed into the side of Shinku's head, soon followed by another into his abused sides. Another came, and then one more, before they simply became part of a barrage.

The forest was ablaze as Orochimaru gazed with a look of sourness at the Yondaime. "You had the galls," the snake sannin remarked, "to have a _gerbil_ steal the forbidden scroll back."

Minato smiled. "You should really have checked for unwanted passengers…you didn't think I would actually use the Hiraishin and end up summoned somewhere to your liking."

"And this," Orochimaru looked around. "Anbu," the snake sannin snorted. "You prepared quite nice bait, Minato."

"Well, now that there isn't a village to risk," the Yondaime remarked, "I can fight you until you kick the bucket."

"Such a cold heart," Orochimaru said, "Risking the lives of your precious daughter and her friends."

"They're shinobi, and they've proven their skills," Minato retorted. "I trust them to stay alive until the Anbu mop up your crew of scum."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Let's not waste time then, I have an Uchiha to make mine."

Naruko lowered her head and avoided a giant fist barrelling just an inch away from her face. The orange-haired guy —who was practically bald anyway if not for a few tuft of hair— seemed to enjoy trying to get her in close combat. Who was she to say no to a strength battle?

Her hands clasped tightly around the outstretched and open-palmed ones of her enemy. Naruko grinned with a feral and half-demonic smile, standing her ground.

"Ohi fat lard ball! Is this all you've got!?"

"You sucking piece of garbage! Don't you call me fat!" Jirobo yelled back, his eyes widening as he pushed all his strength against the girl who was just half his size.

Yet she didn't move an inch.

"Ohi, want to know something funny, fatty?" Naruko giggled, even as her hands tightened the grip. "I've got near endless stamina. I don't get tired like other people, and when I do I get right back up in a few minutes, and you know what that means?"

Her eyes sharpened as she growled. "It means that I can fucking lift your lard-ass all the way to the frigging moon!"

Jirobo felt the ground leave as he was lifted by _a girl half his size_. He roared in anger, his cursed mark flaring up as chakra pumped through his veins and muscles. He'd show the girl! He wasn't going to let this affront stand!

His wrists suddenly cracked. The girl smiled brightly at the sight of blood gushing out from the man's broken bones. "I said it before, lard-ass," Naruko snarled. "If this is all you've got, then I'm sending you to the frigging moon!"

There was a roar and a light flash of crimson chakra, before Naruko twisted her body with a ferocious and sharp jerking motion. There was a cracking sound, and soon Jirobo was handless and rolling on the ground screaming.

Naruko crunched with her hands the torn limbs of the enemy teen, before throwing the two small balls of flesh and bones on the ground at her sides, discarding them like garbage.

Her right fist slammed into her left open-palmed hand. "My name's Naruko Namikaze, bastard," she hissed. "Remember it in hell!"

The last thing Jirobo saw was the underside of a foot slamming home against his face, before the crunching sound of his skull caving in and his brain splattering ended his thoughts and life at the same time.

Naruko spat to the side of the corpse, before turning around. She had to find Uke-chan and Shin-chan, wherever they were. She should have taken Shin-chan personally, instead of letting a Kage Bunshin carry him.

If only duckbutt used the Susanoo, then she'd know where the hell he was.

Her eyes scanned the battlefield, taking in the Anbu, the raging fire, the shinobi attacking one another. They settled finally on a form. She took off with two crimson tails bursting from her back the next second.

Sakon grinned as he lifted his right hand, savouring the moment the punch would connect with the trash's already fractured chin. It was a moment, and then Ukon barely managed to warn him in time. A chakra claw swiped the air where his head would have been. His feet moved him backwards enough to avoid another swipe with ended with a cracking ground.

Dust lifted from the ground as a feral roar deafened him, before twin tails of crimson chakra shot forth. Sakon twisted his body, letting the tails pass harmlessly over him. The heat made the grass burn as the sound ninja ground his teeth in frustration.

Naruko charged, her fist an inch away from the Sound teen when an arrow slammed against her chest. The chakra cloak absorbed the brunt of the impact, but it slowed her enough to give Sakon the time to spin his body forward and punch the girl in the cheek with all four of his fists.

He screamed in pain a moment later, the heat of the chakra unbearable. Naruko's left hand gripped tightly onto one of the four hands. She growled with her eyes crimson and her fangs bare, her whisker marks pronounced.

"I'll owe one to Kidomaru," Sakon grumbled. "Ukon! It's your turn!"

Ukon snaked out of his brother's body, slamming against the chakra cloak and…and screaming in pain as he returned into his brother's body.

"I can't! T-That bitch's chakra is—"

"Oh?" Naruko smiled, "You fuckers weren't told the Kyuubi's chakra corrosive?" Naruko's twin tail swished in the air as her grip remained strong. "Why, let me show you how it fucking works!"

The crimson cloak roared as it poured through Naruko's hands and throughout Sakon and Ukon's shared body. The twins screamed as their flesh burned and turned to black ashes. Their very blood boiled and broke apart as the Kyuubi's chakra coursed through them.

"Let go! Let go! LET GO! LET GO!" Sakon's screams died out as nothing more than a charred husk of him and his brother remained behind.

Naruko snorted. Her tails slowly disappeared as she quickly dashed towards Shinku's battered body.

Her teammate didn't look good _at all_. His arm twisted in an unnatural angle, there was just so much blood pooling down from his mouth and pierced limb…

"All right, all right, what do I do?" Naruko's hands went to her head. "Calm down, calm down. Shin-chan! You're…Shin-chan?"

There was no reply.

"Shin-chan?" Naruko's voice was meek. "Shin-chan?" she croaked out once more, her hands gripping on the arrow pinning her teammate's body to the rock. "It's going to be all right, yeah, 'ttebayo…hang on!"

She clenched her fists. "_SASUKE! WHERE THE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU!?_"

Sasuke's body twisted, trying to free his hands from the chains. His chakra sealed by a tag applied to his chest, his hands and legs bound, he growled eying the lithe and pale haired boy who was standing guard over him.

"Capturing you has not proven to be a challenge," Kimimaro spoke. "All is going according to Orochimaru-sama's plans."

Sasuke hissed with his wrists raw from the effort of freeing one hand. All he needed was to free one hand, remove the tag, and then crush the bastard to death. They weren't far from the battle, which was slowly but surely winding down.

A tanned man appeared a moment later, "Sakon and Ukon were done in just like Jirobo," he eyed Sasuke. "I don't think we'll manage to get the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. The Yondaime's putting up a hell of a fight against Orochimaru-sama."

"Orochimaru-sama will win," Kimimaro replied.

"Yeah, like hell," Sasuke hissed. "He's going to lose, and when the Yondaime's come around, he'll take care of the lot of you in a flash!"

"Shut the fuck up, trash!" Kidomaru yelled back, "Just count yourself lucky Orochimaru-sama chose your body!" a kick slammed Sasuke's body on the ground.

The Uchiha coughed out in pain.

"Kidomaru," Kimimaro said calmly, "Stop or I will kill you. Do not harm Orochimaru-sama's future body."

Sasuke pushed his body forward, letting it ground against the dirt.

The chakra tag _ripped_.

His eyes turned to the Mangekyou form before the other two could react.

"_**SUSANOO**_!"

Standing in the middle of the chakra construct, awash with chakra, Sasuke's eyes spun as the creature's weapon came crashing down.

Kidomaru and Kimimaro both dodged, gazing at the creature.

"You fucking piece of trash!" Kidomaru yelled.

"You're the trash, Kidomaru," Kimimaro snarled even as bones began to grow all around his body. "For Orochimaru-sama, I will capture you again."

Kidomaru morphed, his seal activating and reaching the second stage.

"SASUKE!" Naruko appeared in a flicker of leaves, "Come quick! Shin-chan's wounded and—"

A bone bullet slammed into the girl's chest. Naruko disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke turned his eyes towards his opponents.

"I'm in a hurry," he snarled, "Stand aside now!"

The Uchiha charged ahead, the Susanoo following him like protective armour. Kimimaro's fully transformed form pounced at him with his giant bone drill ahead, trying to halt his advance. The Susanoo's armour absorbed the blow, before one of its hands came down to swat the teen away.

Kimimaro sailed through the air, blood escaping from his mouth as he landed abruptly on the ground. Kidomaru snarled in frustration, as five arrows left his bow and neither managed to pierce the absolute defence of the Uchiha.

"Where the fucking hell is Tayuya when you need her!?"

Tayuya clicked her tongue in distaste. It wasn't a matter of being more than the enemy. The Anbu were better. The trash Orochimaru-sama had given her to kill the nobles had practically been annihilated, and she was holding on to her life —no matter what orders she had, she wasn't going to die because some trash couldn't frigging win.

Her oni swatted away at an Anbu, whose colleagues flanked her in that instant. A Tanto came down for her right arm, but she brought her flute to parry the attack. Another Anbu —they appeared like fucking maggots— came from the other side, and before she could even scream, it was over.

Her left arm fell on the ground with a sickening squelch. Blood sprayed over the Anbu's mask as a fist connected with Tayuya's sides. The girl doubled over, and thus darkness claimed her.

Shinku trembled from the cold. Inner gazed ahead with his arms crossed. "Damn the desert's nights are cold," he stated plainly.

"We dead yet?" Shinku asked, looking around as the plateau of sand and blood slowly crumbled piece by piece.

"No, not yet," Inner remarked. "Well, at least we aren't getting any more nightmares," he eyed the pulsing mass of flesh and screams that had all but reduced itself to a small tendril, floating near the edge of the crumbling platform.

"No 'stand up and fight' speech?"

"You realize we're probably dead no matter what," Inner remarked. "And I have my limits too," he exhaled, his eyes gazing at Outer tiredly. "Well, seems like this is our limit. Well, at least we killed three guys before going down. That's nice, I suppose."

Outer shuddered, his teeth chattering. "It's cold."

"Death sure as hell isn't warm," Inner walked closer to Outer, before plopping down right behind him, back to back. "Well," Inner gazed upwards. "It was nice knowing you, Shinku."

The plateau of sand crumbled faster, the ground cracking and splitting apart.

"Why did my subconscious have to be a blood-soaked desert?" Outer mumbled. "It could have been a granite wall. You don't take down a granite wall now, do you?"

"Everything falls," Inner said. "Everything ends. Everyone, eventually, dies."

"I would have liked to see Fu one last time," Shinku mumbled.

"Oh for the love of…dying in someone's arm is overrated," Inner snapped back, "Dying in general is overrated."

"Well, at least I'm going to hell with company," Outer remarked with his lips twitching upwards. "Thanks for being here."

The back of his head bumped against Inner's own, who returned the favour.

"Anytime," Inner said. "Well, see you on the other side."

The crumbling sand neared, only but a palm away.

"Is it normal to be scared?" Shinku whispered. "Because I'm scared. I'm…"

"Yeah, falling in the darkness does that," Inner mumbled back. "Take a deep breath and close your eyes."

The sand finished crumbling.

"Uh?"

A mere inch away from the tip of his cross-legged feet, the sand stopped falling.

Inner froze too, before suddenly starting to laugh madly. "Ah…Ahahah…I can't…I can't believe it!" he laughed out to his heart's content, "We're alive? How? Ah…ahaha…we've used all our luck now, yeah, it must be it…no other explanation."

His head pounded as if someone were grinding it. His body felt cold, breathing came out hurting his throat, his chest, his entire frame. Yet his eyes opened barely of a crack.

A soft green glow was at his arm.

He supposed it was going to scar.

"You fuckers…way…hin-chan!" that was Naruko's voice, or what little he understood.

"…Uchiha!" another voice, definitively male.

The soft glow moved across his arm and towards his chest. "I never did this before," Sasuke mumbled, his voice tense as sweat pooled down from his forehead. "I read it, I memorized it, but…"

He ground his teeth. "Just stick with me. All right Shinku? You just have to stick with me."

"Uhn…"

"Grit your teeth," Sasuke mumbled, "First it's internal bleeding. Have to stop it. Have to…"

The feeling of hot scorching metal through his skin made Shinku scream in pain as he tried to move away from it, but the firm grip of…it had to be one of Naruko's Kage Bunshin, held him still.

"Ohi! You're hurting him!"

"We don't have time!" Sasuke snarled back. "He's lost too much blood already!"

"Come on Shin-chan, stick with us!" Naruko yelled to the side of his ear. He felt his entire body twist and roll around —even though he wasn't moving— and wished he was dead, rather than suffering from whatever this was.

"I think I patched up an eardrum," Sasuke mumbled, his hands to the sides of Shinku's head. "The brain is…I mean, concussions are…don't fall asleep."

"Urgh…"

"No retching, try to hold it in," Sasuke grumbled.

"The fuckers left," another Naruko appeared at the edge of his vision. "How's Shin-chan?"

"He'll pull through," Sasuke said firmly, "He has to, or how the hell are we going to be even on the life-saving thing? And whose pure love am I going to peep on if he dies here?"

Shinku tried to chuckle, but ended up coughing out blood.

"Calm down, calm down, small breaths…" Sasuke said. "Dobe! Can't you find a medic? Anbu should have some basics down, right!?"

Naruko disappeared out of his vision.

Shinku's eyelids felt heavy, as he exhaled.

"Don't! Stay the hell awake!" Sasuke exclaimed, his right hand pinching hard on Shinku's abused cheek. "Don't you dare fall asleep! Not without a medic checking on you! Don't you even think for a minute to fall asleep, do you hear me Shinku! Stay awake!"

He could just catch a quick nap…

"NO! It's an order! I swear I'm putting you through a Genjutsu if you don't stay the hell awake!"

_**Does he ever shut up?**_

_He must...like the sound…of his voice._

Orochimaru panted, his Kusanagi tightly held in his right hand. His body covered in wounds, the snakes that composed his real body carefully knitted them close.

"It appears you've lost, Orochimaru," Minato remarked, holding one of his three-pronged kunai at the ready.

"Eventually, Sasuke will be mine," Orochimaru replied with a half-bored tone. "I'll leave for the moment, Minato," he smiled. "You'd best take care of your wounded…you never know when you might need more men."

"Just tell me, Orochimaru," Minato growled. "What makes you think I'll let you go?"

There was the sound of the Raikiri building up. "What would you give," Orochimaru said suddenly, "In exchange for your loved ones? What would you sacrifice for them?"

Minato narrowed his eyes. "What are you…you finished it?" the Yondaime murmured. "You completed that technique?"

"Oh, yes," Orochimaru smiled, "I did."

Kakashi charged. His hand covered in the electric blue of his trademark technique as he slammed it straight through the chest…

Orochimaru wasn't hit.

A figure shot out from the shadows and took the blow straight to the chest.

Kakashi stilled, his breathing dying as his eyes took in the appearance of the shinobi —no, the kunoichi— who had taken the brunt of the blow.

"This…brings back memories," the voice was soft, just like he remembered. "Not at all pleasant ones too," she softly added.

Rin backhanded Kakashi away, just as her ripped chest slowly reformed in front of his widened and shocked eyes.

"What is Kakashi-kun? Seen a ghost?" Rin sneered in his direction.

"Rin?" Minato croaked.

"Minato-sensei," Rin smiled, looking at the Yondaime. "How nice. If only Obito were here, it would be the old team once more."

"OROCHIMARU!" Kakashi roared, charging ahead.

"No! Kakashi! Don't—" Minato's scream fell on deaf ears as his pupil didn't listen, rage and fury blinding his senses to anything else.

The Kusanagi sailed the air nimbly, slicing through Rin's body and _Kakashi's_. The Jounin barely managed to halt his advance, earning a gash on the stomach rather than a full-out halving of his body.

"Very well Hokage-sama," Orochimaru smirked as he watched Rin's halved body reform under his eyes. "We will take our leave…the Kusanagi's poison will kill him in three days of excruciating torment, so you better make him comfortable before his end," the snake sannin gave a sneer, and with a chuckle, disappeared together with Rin.

"Raido!" he barked, "Gather the others and prepare the Hiraishin! We have no time to waste! First we send the critically wounded back!"

"Yes, sir!" Raido exclaimed from behind his Anbu mask, before beginning to round up the survivors. It had been a slaughter…on the enemy's side. Orochimaru had apparently attacked with a small force of sound-shinobi, but none of them were beyond Chuunin-level…except for a key few that had made some casualties on their sides.

He watched dispassionately as a Tiger-masked Anbu clenched the hem of the outfit of another dead one —probably his colleague— and screamed at him to wake up. A few of the bodies were cradled by sniffling teammates, a couple laid to rest in quiet silence with their teammates looking on and —probably behind the masks— letting silent tears fall.

The pile of the sound shinobi was taller however. At least two dozens of corpses, all being prepared for transport back in Konoha, were one atop the other.

"He'll be fine," he heard a female voice say. He turned just in time to see the Yondaime's daughter exhale in relief, her face visibly distending. Next to her, the Chief of the police's son wiped away the sweat from his forehead. Their teammate was with his back against a rock spike, covered in drying blood. He had probably ended up receiving the brunt of an attack.

Compared to his teammates, who were both unscathed and unblemished, he really did stand out as the dead-last of his class.

Raido neared. "Will he make it if we move him?"

The Anbu —probably a medic judging by the soft glow of her hand— gave him a quick look. "If Konoha's hospital wasn't a pile of rubble, I'd say yes. As it stands, it's all a matter of seeing if he survives the night."

The woman gazed towards the grimacing Sasuke. "You did well, boy," she said. "He would have bled out without your intervention."

Sasuke clenched his fists, before giving a nod to the woman.

The woman stood up then, "I'd say to move him when you're sure the guys on the other side can take care of him. Now I'm sorry, but I have to check on the other wounded."

Raido nodded, letting the Anbu wearing a crane mask leave. "You'll have to write a report about what happened," he said towards the two Chuunin. "For what it's worth, you'll receive pay as if it were an S-rank."

"Hurray," Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes. "As if a million's ryo is worth seeing my teammate in this state," he knelt down next to Shinku. "Anything else, Anbu-san?"

"Your sensei," Raido began hesitantly. "Orochimaru wounded him."

"Unless he's dead, Kakashi-Nii will pull through," Naruko retorted. "So, when are we moving Shin-chan?"

"When they're done sending the first ahead," Sasuke replied.

"Someone will come and warn you," Raido finished, leaving the two Chuunin behind.

Naruko remained quiet for a moment, her eyes moving from her bloodied hand to Shinku's bloody body. "You think he'd ever get this wounded if he were in another team?"

Sasuke snorted. "Probably he'd be picking weeds out of a garden for years still."

"I wouldn't blame him," Naruko mumbled. "I'd actually like to weed a garden for once."

"We did weed one already," Sasuke said.

"Nah, I left it to Shin-chan. He really was enjoying himself."

Sasuke's lips twitched upwards.

"Hey," Naruko said, "I think Shin-chan needs some training," she added. "Like, a lot."

"You plan on forcing your way in Anbu, dobe?"

"I can so totally act like an Anbu, Teme," Naruko pouted back. "What's there of difficult? Just keep your mouth shut and act like you've got a stick up your ass to eleven."

The two of them fell quiet. "You'll probably need a hand in there," Sasuke remarked, breaking the silence. "I could…"

"No," Naruko shook her head. "You go and become a medic-nin, because even though I'm awesome, Shin-chan's going to get so many wounds he'll need you to keep him from kicking the bucket."

"Have some faith in his skills," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He's not that bad."

"No, but he isn't like us either," Naruko mumbled back.

No other words were spoken.

Shinku fell asleep then —he was too tired to hear anything anymore, and judging by how his teammates were speaking, they probably assumed he had been knocked unconscious by the Anbu's treatment.

There was no need to hear more. He knew he wasn't like them…

There was no need to twist the kunai in the wound.

**Author's notes**

**The shinobi economy is nuts.**

**Kakashi completed 42 S-ranks, meaning he'd have in his bank account something like a minimum of 42 million ryos. Might Guy completed 32, meaning he'd have 32 million. **

**So, the shinobi village have an active economy ranging in the Billions, because Kurenai —recently made Jounin— has 14 S-ranks, giving her at least 14 million in her bank account.**

…**When one asks why you'd want to be a backstabbing murderous shinobi, I think the plain answer is the cash.**

**Especially when, looking at the 'cost' of a ramen, it comes in the 80-100 price range. (The hell of an economy!)**


	49. Kindness of Friends

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Forty-Nine

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to open his eyes. The light hurt. Everything hurt. If there was one thing, one thought Shinku felt would aptly describe his situation, it would be a mix between 'never ending atrocious agony' and 'maddening moment of pure pain'.

The taste of iron in his mouth, the feeling of dried blood over his skin, it probably was because he hadn't been washed. The bed he was on didn't feel any different from a hospital one, but the air was different. His half-open eyes opened fully a moment later, as he took in the change of scenery.

He was in a room. He was in a bright orange room. He was in a bright orange room where the light of the sun gleamed off the walls and made it painfully blinding to even stare at anything that wasn't the bed's sheets.

The bed sheets were an atrocious green and orange, which didn't make it any better —the green actually appeared to be some sort of toad motif. There were a few pictures hanging from the wall, coupled with shelves that seemed overwhelmed with scrolls. The smell of ramen was so overpowering it probably was a reason he felt the need to retch.

His left arm was in a firm cast, which he couldn't apparently move.

The mystery of the ramen stench lasted until his eyes travelled beyond the bed sheets, and towards what had seemed like a gleaming white pile of plastic. It was a white tower made of empty ramen cups. It not only stood a good human-size tall, but it also had the uncanny ability of defying gravity.

The room was empty of any other human life however. He exhaled.

If he had to make an educated guess, this looked precisely like a room he imagined Naruko to have. However, he also doubted they'd let him sleep in her room in the Hokage's mansion, since he was pretty sure they had spare rooms for ambassadors and their families.

Hence, this was probably a guest room turned into playroom-working spot for Naruko. He'd bet his insanity on it.

"We'd probably return sane," he mumbled, "Too easy to guess this."

"Guess the hospital's still in dire straits," he gazed to his right hand. The beetle was still there, bright red and alive.

There was a simple moment of quiet. He wheezed as he felt his throat constrict. He was alive. Even the smell of ramen didn't feel so bad now that he thought about it. He was alive.

He was still breathing.

He could…

No. He winced and nearly screamed from the pain. He wasn't going _anywhere_ any moment soon.

"I feel sick," he gazed at the ceiling. "If anyone can hear me, I'd like a washbasin."

There was no reply.

Slowly, his eyes closed once more. Eventually, someone was bound to come in and check on his condition.

He abruptly woke up thanks to a sharp, strong and prolonged scream. "YOU BRAT!"

"Baa-chan! Catch me if you can!"

The door opened with a bang, before Naruko dashed inside. A big-breasted pony-tailed woman entered next, seemingly with the intention of slamming home a few fists against the girl. She stopped however at the sight of Shinku —which was probably what Naruko had intended all along.

"No fighting with a patient nearby!" Naruko piped out, "Your rules Baa-chan!"

The woman's amber eyes gave a pissed look at his teammate. "You're lucky, brat, to be my goddaughter."

Naruko chuckled lecherously. "You have to tell me your secret Baa-chan! They're just too big to be natural!"

"What the hell do you know about it, uh!? You don't know how many years I spent as a board!" Tsunade replied, clenching her right fist and waving it in front of Naruko. "This," she gestured at her breasts, "Is the result of all those years of suffering!"

"Ah…" Shinku croaked out. "H…Hello?"

"Shin-chan!" Naruko nearly tackled him. It was a 'Nearly' because Tsunade gripped the girl by the scruff of the neck and held her down.

"Remember your strength brat!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Now, let's see what we've got here," she snorted as she neared Shinku's form. "They didn't even wash you," she mumbled. "They must have been pressed at the time."

"Yeah," Naruko grumbled. "They fixed him up and left him there, if I hadn't come along and brought him here he'd probably be sleeping in a corner of a tent or something, really. How do they expect people to heal without ramen and orange's positive influence?"

Tsunade's lips twitched upwards even as a light green chakra began to run through her hands, which she gently laid across Shinku's chest. "Well, and here I thought the Uchiha were good only to fan their farts up their noses," the slug sannin grumbled, "Your teammate did a patchwork job, but it did hold enough for the medic to do theirs…and whoever treated you is an arsehole," she added.

"Really, not even deadening the nerves," her hands moved towards his broken arm, "And they didn't heal the micro-fractures, course they probably didn't have the time but…"

"So, you can fix Shin-chan, Baa-chan?"

"Yes brat, I can fix him," Tsunade sighed. "He's not the worse I've seen and if he's awake now, it means he's got quite the resilience."

"Used…to it," Shinku mumbled.

"I don't doubt it," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Well, let's get you all patched up."

It was a matter of minutes. Whoever said chakra wasn't wonderful needed to have his brain fixed. Within mere minutes, Shinku was —if not quite painlessly— standing back on his two feet.

"Now, don't you dare make any effort on your left arm for at least two days," Tsunade remarked. "I'm serious here. I'm good, but your body needs time to rest."

"All right! Then I'll show him around the house!" Naruko exclaimed, "And where the bath is," she added. "I wanted to wash you Shin-chan, but Uke-chan stopped me," she sniffled. "If you need a hand with your back," she gazed at him lecherously, "You just need to as—"

Tsunade's fist slammed into Naruko's head. The girl puffed out in a cloud of smoke. The sannin sighed just as the door barrelled open again and another Naruko ran in. "What was that for, Baa-chan!?"

"You need someone to kick out Jiraiya's influence from your body, brat!"

"Why, because going gambling and getting dead drunk is better?" Naruko shot back.

"Don't talk back to your elders, girl!"

"So you admit being an old hag, hag!"

Shinku watched as the two snapped one against the other. He sat back down on the side of the bed, waiting for the verbal sparring to end.

They were both panting hard by the time they realized they'd be going at it for a good half an hour.

"I'm done wasting time here, brat," Tsunade grumbled. "I've got patients to take care of."

"See ya at dinner, hag!" with a snort and a small smile, Tsunade of the sannin left the room.

Naruko smiled brightly at Shinku, and Shinku felt dread run down his spine. "So," Naruko, "Shin-chan? How about a bath?"

"A shower?" he hazarded.

"Oh," Naruko blinked. "Fine," she pouted. "Follow me!"

He shakily stood up, before starting to walk next to Naruko. The floor was made of luxurious wood and the walls themselves appeared of marble. The furniture looked rich, and everything seemed to ooze off some sort of neat and expensive air.

"This place's got something like five or six servants cleaning every minute," Naruko grumbled. "You can't make a smudge that it's already gone when you look at it again."

"Why am I…"

"They didn't have space at the 'hospital' tent," Naruko snorted, "And there was no way I'd let you stay alone in that shoddy apartment! Really, Shin-chan…" the girl looked at him softly, "I've got so many guest rooms just lying around! And I mean, I even furnished them myself!"

"Is that why…they're orange?"

"Orange is an awesome colour 'ttebayo," Naruko replied with a pout. "And it catches attention. So if the enemy sees something orange, they look there and they don't realize you're moving up to them from the back," she snickered. "Beneath the jumpsuit I've got a green shirt, who do you think would realize it in time?"

She crossed her arms behind her head, smugly looking upwards with her eyes half-closed as she walked forward. "Not that I need that, since I'm awesomely strong and fast anyway," she nodded to herself. "You can start venerating the ground I walk on any moment now, Shin-chan."

Shinku exhaled quietly. "Where's Sasuke?"

"He's pouting at the hospital," Naruko giggled. "We did Janken to decide who was going to take care of you, and of course I won. So, like the sorry butt he is, he's sulking while helping out."

She quickly flailed her hands in front of her, "Not that I'm not helping too uh! I've got Kage Bunshin going around the village and helping people!"

Shinku frowned, "Where's the real you then?"

"Training," Naruko shrugged, "Like always." She made a show of flexing her right arm's muscles. "These babies don't form in a fortnight!"

"I see."

Naruko hummed to herself as she showed him the bath —a luxurious marble bath with golden chequered faucets, "You sure you don't want me to wash your back?"

"S-Sure," Shinku replied. Naruko pouted, but didn't put up a fight as she closed the door behind her. He ended up hissing as he carefully washed his body under the hot water. On the positive side, the bruises wouldn't scar. On the negative, he now had a scar the size of a palm on his left arm. He supposed it could make for an interesting tale.

"Ah…" he exhaled in relief, letting the water wash over him. His hair was slick with blood, and by the time he washed it clean there was a puddle of crimson water running down the drain. He hadn't gazed at the bed he had slept in, but he had probably left a mess there too —he wondered if it would be clean by the time he went back.

When he stepped out of the shower, there were loose blue gym clothes waiting for him to don. He blinked, before blearily staring at the reflection of the mirror.

"She had to step inside to drop them," he mumbled.

"Nine to ten, she took pictures," his reflection replied.

"That's like betting on the sun rising in the morning."

With a sigh, Shinku dressed up and stepped outside. Naruko was chuckling, but she gave him a thumb-up. "Nice! Now that you're dressed up, let's go to where my real me is!"

"You took pictures, didn't you?" Shinku said calmly, eying Naruko.

"Maybe," Naruko whistled.

"There's something extremely wrong with that, I hope you understand it," Shinku said.

"I'm doing this for Fu-chan. She'll need something to pull her through the dreadful wait of not seeing her Shin-chan!"

Shinku sighed. "I'll never have a serious conversation with you, right?"

"Nah, that's not true," Naruko hummed. "We can totally make a serious conversation," she smiled brightly. "So, you're planning on entering Anbu?"

"I don't know," he acquiesced. "Kakashi didn't even tell me about it, but…"

"Kakashi-Nii's really sick right now," Naruko mumbled. "Dad said he might not make it," the girl smiled a bit more, "but knowing him, he'll be back from death's door in a moment."

Shinku wearily looked sideways. Did he really want to enter Anbu? Well, no, it was more of 'did he really want to go through Anbu training'?

He clenched his right fist. If he didn't, then would he ever become something else? He'd always be the one getting hit or wounded, while the others would simply pass him by. It was probably his pride speaking…but he wanted to become better.

"Probably I will," he mumbled in the end. "I mean, if that's what Kakashi wanted then he probably knew best…"

"Uhm…I see, I see," Naruko nodded. "Shin-chan, you're clearly a masochist, right?"

Shinku spluttered. "W-What? No!"

The sound of metal being hit reached his ears, and a few steps further brought him and Naruko's Kage Bunshin into a wide room filled with training equipment. Naruko —the real one— was sweating in a corner of the room, while lifting some heavy weights with both hands. The metallic sound came from her dropping the weights on the ground after every five movements of thrusting them upwards. Her clone popped up, and she turned around with a bright smile a moment later.

"Hey Shin-chan! Anyone ever told you you've got a nice ass?"

Shinku spluttered. "What are you, an old pervert?"

"I'm an awesome pervert!" Naruko laughed out heartily. Shinku neared, carefully avoiding to crash into any of the machines hanging around. "And this is my gym, where I train to become the sexiest kunoichi in the world 'ttebayo!"

Naruko lifted the weights again. "Baa-chan fixed you up pretty nice, right?"

He sat down on a nearby bench. "Yeah," he said, "How long was I out?"

"Not even one day," Naruko shrugged as she dropped the weights again. "You just skipped on breakfast and lunch."

Shinku settled quietly on watching Naruko train. "You know," Naruko said suddenly, "You can't use your left arm, but that doesn't mean you can't train the rest of your body."

"Uh?"

"There's that machine over there," she gestured towards a corner, "Good for running. Or, uhm…we could spar and I promise not to hit you on your left side?"

Shinku gave her a 'raised eyebrow' gaze.

"Well, I mean, you aren't getting bored right?"

"No," Shinku replied.

"Oh, all right then," Naruko was _squirming_ as she returned to her training. Shinku frowned slightly. He didn't understand what the fuss was about —mostly, he didn't understand why the girl seemed uncomfortable.

"You know," Naruko said, "If you're getting bored you can totally tell me, I won't get mad."

"I'm catching a breath after nearly dying," Shinku replied, "I'm fine."

"Yeah, well…all right."

A few minutes of silence, and Naruko squirmed once more. "You're really sure you aren't…"

"What's the problem?"

"No, I mean, I wouldn't be able to stand still when someone else is training in front of me so…if you want to try anything just go ahead, all right?"

"Fine?"

Minutes passed by in silence once more, until Naruko broke the quiet with a groan.

"Promise not to laugh?"

Shinku inclined his head to the side. "Yes?"

"It's embarrassing, being watched while training."

"Oh," Shinku looked downwards. "I can leave if—"

"No, no! I didn't mean it like that Shin-chan," Naruko shook her head. "It's just…You're not bored, are you?"

"No," he deadpanned back.

"Good then, that's…good?"

"Why should I be bored?"

"It's just that, well, I would be."

"I'm not you," Shinku replied.

"Right, right, yeah…that's right," Naruko hummed before letting go of the weights and starting to use the bench to do push-ups. "You know, with the Kyuubi I need just a minute of rest and then I can go at it again. I can practically train the entire day."

"Oh," Shinku raised an eyebrow. "Don't _you_ ever get bored?"

Naruko chuckled. "I've got the Kage Bunshin for it. I'm practically used to letting them have fun while I stick here doing training. Man, I can't even remember the last time I ate a cookie. That Kage Bunshin was a lucky bitch, that's what she was."

"You eat ramen," Shinku deadpanned. "Isn't ramen worse than cookies?"

"It's not for that. I can't go in a sugar rush Shin-chan," Naruko giggled. "Last time I ended up running around like a squirrel. It's sugar and coffee, my mortal enemies."

"Why all this training?" he asked.

"Because I can," Naruko mumbled. "I mean, even that creepy green spandex guy, he could probably train for three days straight…but then he'd have to go to the hospital to treat his muscles, and the effort might kill him or wound his heart or something like that…I don't have those problems. I can train nonstop, seven days a week, with only drinking and eating as a break. I get tired, and then the tired goes away. That's the Kyuubi's for you, I suppose. I started training at five, and here I am."

"You mean, with the Kage Bunshin?"

"At five, I could make ten of those," Naruko mumbled. "At seven, it was three hundred. I stopped counting, but by now I can easily make six thousands…and a normal Jounin can make something like a dozen before dying."

Shinku stared at her wide-eyed. "That's…a lot?"

"Yeah, I don't like to brag," Naruko chuckled, "But I'm pretty strong. I just lack skills. Those damn fuckers in the forest, I don't know what type of hold they used or where the hell they hit me, but I suppose it's all training…I don't go down like others with the Kyuubi chakra in me. I mean, I think you could pretty much stab my heart and I'd still plough through you."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"It's a moment," Naruko shrugged as she twisted her body in mid-air, before doing the 'bridge' and keeping up on stretching. "And frankly, with the way the Kyuubi's chakra hurts when I use it, getting stabbed is really nothing."

Shinku didn't say another word. "Well," Naruko grumbled after a while, "I'm taking five," and with that, she plopped down on the bench next to him and dropped her head against his right shoulder. "Wake me up by then, Shin-chan."

"Ah…uh," Naruko began to snore. "All right?" he weakly mumbled.

He could feel Naruko's sweat stick through the clothes he wore, but his eyes remained down towards the pavement. The girl had trained every day, for as long as possible, since she was five.

When he was five, he barely remembered playing in his room with cubes or colouring pictures. Did he even have the _right_ of getting stronger? He wasn't from a shinobi family. Reaching Chuunin was already a good achievement. He could remain a chuunin, enter the workforce, and live happily without setting foot out of Konoha again.

He didn't have to enter Anbu or aim for Jounin. He didn't have to try and become as strong as his teammates —which was already impossible, at least considering Naruko's strength.

"Ra…men…" Naruko mumbled in her sleep. "Stop running…" she giggled.

The girl who could easily create six thousand clones and crack apart the ground with a kick dreamed of pursuing ramen. Really, when he heard things like those…

Things weren't as simple as they looked in the end.

Minato Namikaze looked with his fingers crossed under his chin at the papers in front of him. Kakashi had pulled at every string he had before leaving for the mission. The Anbu leader was requesting new recruits to insert in the _active_ ranks. Out of the list of shinobi proposed to begin Anbu training, Shinku Haruno's name stuck out like a glaring eyesore.

The fact Orochimaru had assumed control of the Sound village furthermore —it couldn't be a coincidence that he only used Sound Shinobi— gave him no choice but to declare the state of war against the land of Rice Fields.

If he did that, he couldn't let Naruko leave the village. Sasuke had asked to enter the medic-corps for training, and that by itself would require a few months of learning under a mentor without any distraction. Kakashi was out, the Kusanagi's poison was still making him suffer even though Tsunade did her best.

Rin's reappearance because of the Edo Tensei…he shuddered and closed his eyes. Orochimaru _had_ to be stopped.

"I'm going to hell for this," he muttered as he gripped the thin brush to sign the papers. "I know I'm going to hell."

In tiny letters, he scribbled down two words at the bottom of the list of candidates for _Anbu_.

_All approved._

He waited for the ink to dry, standing up and heading towards the window to gaze at the village behind the glass. "The village comes first."

He looked up at the sky. "Fight on, Haruno-kun."

He'd have to do the same. When Naruko —and subsequently Kushina— would know what he had done…he'd probably get the couch. Yes, he'd probably start checking it for traps that very night.

Minato Namikaze returned home after work, calmly heading towards the place he knew he would find his daughter before dinner. He had expected Kushina to greet him at the door, but when she hadn't, he had simply exhaled and headed further inside the mansion and towards the gym.

At least Naruko took her training seriously.

He found Kushina, peeking through a crack of the gym's door with a camera in her hands and a glint of mischief in her eyes. Next to her, Sasuke Uchiha was doing pretty much the same thing. Normally, that would have been enough to make him turn tails and run.

In this case, he simply crept forward until the two of them gave him a 'quiet' gesture and told him with signs to have a look…and so he did.

Shinku Haruno was squirming uncomfortably on the bench in the gym, while Naruko herself had fallen asleep on his lap and was currently drooling all over his knees. There was that sort of pleading look on Haruno's face that seemed to simply cry out for help, which was probably the reason the two near him were enjoying the scene.

It was like watching a kitten meowing wide-eyed for milk from a carton box on the side of the road. It was cute, endearing, and in a certain sense, it made him feel horrible for making a light chuckle at the scene.

He hoped Anbu wouldn't break the boy further. He really hoped that. No Anbu worth his salt ever squirmed like that.

**Author's notes**

**Yes, **_**this**_** is the gut punch.**

…

**Joking.**


	50. Unsurprising Reactions

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty

Naruko had her head down at the side of the table, snoring as hard as she could possibly do. Shinku's eyes were wide in surprise since a few minutes before, but now they reached a new level.

"The Dobe really fall asleep only in two places," Sasuke grumbled. "In here and at my house —everywhere else, she just keeps an eye close and the other open," the Uchiha shook his head. "And when she does fall asleep, it's not 'five minutes' but more like 'five days'."

"R-ramen," Naruko snored.

"She isn't sick, right?" Shinku muttered. Kushina laughed lightly from her spot in the kitchen.

"Of course not, it's just that my baby's so timid, she's always stressed everywhere else. And you know what they say about a shinobi who sleeps on the job, right?"

"That he's doing a poor one," Sasuke finished with a nod. "Unfortunately, only the Dobe can stay awake for weeks on her side without any effect."

"Weeks?" Shinku choked out in disbelief. "You're lying. It's…_weeks_?"

"She's mostly sane, right?" Sasuke retorted. "Oh, careful."

The next moment, Shinku ended up pulled closer to Sasuke as Naruko delivered a vicious bite on the table —where his hand had been a moment before.

"Ramen!" Naruko growled.

"Yeah, yeah," Kushina chuckled good-naturedly, "It's coming dear."

"If there were ramen-camps, I'm sure my little girl would be an S-rank threat to them," Minato said with a small smile on his lips.

The moment the pot of homemade ramen made its way on the table, Naruko slithered like a sort of half-breed between a giraffe and a snake towards it, before plunging her head inside.

Kushina simply brought on the table the second —larger— pot.

"Sometimes I wonder if I haven't birthed a boy —really, I don't know who she took those table manners from," the red-haired woman grumbled, before starting to serve the dinner.

The loud slurping began from Kushina's side of the table in less than a second. Minato made an awkward smile, before calmly starting to eat in silence. Sasuke simply held back a snort, while Shinku ate slowly the warm food.

It felt nice.

Naruko opened her eyes after her own pot was empty, like a slumbering bear waking up after a lethargic sleep. She licked her lips and gazed around, her eyes vividly taking in everything. "Hey, is there any ramen left?"

"You mean, except the entire pot you just scarfed down?" Sasuke retorted.

"Meanie," Naruko pouted. "Mom? Can I have some more please?"

"Sure," Kushina said.

It was comfortable.

_**I'm taking over.**_

_Please… do._

Shinku finished eating quietly, his eyes firm and gazing around. It was imperceptible, and yet Minato found himself narrowing his own eyes for a brief instant. Dinner ended after a few minutes, and in that warm afterglow, Minato found himself braving his own instinct of self-survival.

"Haruno-kun? Concerning that matter with Anbu training," he began, only to find the gazes of everyone else at the table on him, "You won't be able to go," he exhaled.

"Oh," Shinku blinked. "All…right?"

"What? No way," Naruko pouted, but she did appear visibly pleased with herself. "Well, that means it's going to be me and Shin-chan doing missions while Uke-chan becomes a medic! And then Kakashi-Nii will get better and we'll…"

"Naruko, I'm breaking up the team," Minato said quietly.

"Uh?" Naruko's eyes widened, as her iris trembled lightly, "What are you…"

"Sasuke will apprentice under Tsunade," the Yondaime said, "You'll have to remain in Konoha for the time being and Shinku, Kakashi pulled enough strings to have you _drafted_ in Anbu."

Minato released a shuddering breath. "You'll receive training on the field, as of this afternoon we are in a state of war against the land of rice fields and the village of sound. You'll have to come by tomorrow in the office to receive your mask and your new assignment."

Not even a fly buzzed in the kitchen. Naruko just gazed at her father with a look that bordered the agony —as if they had just torn a limb from her. It was the quiet before the storm, as Sasuke's fists slammed on the table hard.

"Hokage-sama! I _demand_ to enter Anbu! You can't—"

"DAD!" Naruko slammed her own fists on the table —actually cracking it in half. "WHY THE HELL DO YOU—"

_**Look at them. What are you, a kitten sent to the slaughterhouse? Right, kitten have claws…you don't even have those.**_

A half-broken plate flew in mid-air.

"Naruko! That's no way to speak to your dad 'ttebane!"

"No, I mean! You can't send Shin-chan out there! He barely survives when there's—"

"That's not your—"

"There's no problem if I enter Anbu and—"

Shinku quietly stood from his chair, gazing at the carnage in front of him. Naruko was pressuring her father, with Sasuke acting as her shoulder. The Hokage on the other hand appeared to be awkwardly waiting for some sort of support to come from his wife, who was doing her best to limit Naruko's swearing…but wasn't otherwise interfering.

Shinku did the only thing a proper shinobi could do.

He properly bowed to Kushina —who was gazing towards the rambling scene. "Thank you for the dinner," he lifted his head and simply walked near his teammates, before tapping them both on the shoulder.

"Uh?"

"It's enough," he said. "The Hokage's orders are absolute to the shinobi force. I will come by tomorrow morning then, Hokage-sama. I'll be heading home now, since I have to prepare my stuff for tomorrow."

"Ohi, Shin-chan, you don't have t—"

"It's fine," he interrupted her, "Really. I mean, I'll be the rookie in a team of Anbu. How bad can that go?"

"You're—"

He interrupted Sasuke too, just because he felt like it. "I'll be fine. What? You think I'm the only one who brushes death so many times? I'm sure there's plenty of shinobi who do just fine," he made an awkward smile. "And really…How long can a war go on anyway?"

"I can follow you however," Sasuke hissed back, "There's no reason for me to actually enter the medic-nin corps, it's my decision whether to—"

"Yes, it is," Minato acquiesced, "But it would be better for your treatment."

"Treatment?" Sasuke asked, gazing at the Hokage.

"The cursed seal on you is different from those Orochimaru used before," Minato spoke quietly, "Left untreated, it will kill you in a matter of months. With Tsunade's skills, she increased your life expectancy to a dozen of years provided you cooperate with the treatments and learn how to treat yourself too…"

Naruko had grown deathly quiet at those words, before simply gripping on Shinku and Sasuke's sleeves as if she was a lost child asking for directions. She began to sniffle a moment later.

The sniffle became a full-blown cry by the time Sasuke took the cue to hug the girl. Embarrassed out of his wits, Shinku did the same a second later.

Naruko was bawling like a toddler, her firm grip changing so that she held both Shinku and Sasuke in her fearsome hold. Shinku nearly choked as the grip intensified.

In the end…she was still a kid, wasn't she?

_Aren't we one too, though?_

_**Thirteen twice makes twenty-six. I say we're older.**_

The cool and cold night of Konoha met him as he stepped outside the Hokage's mansion. He could have stayed to sleep, but all of his stuff was in his apartment and he was already feeling uncomfortable at dinner.

"When you're done sniffling in a corner like a bawling kid," Inner mumbled, "You can take over."

"Was it always this cold in Konoha?"

There wasn't a soul hanging around the streets, and the quiet soon mixed with his unruly thoughts. His steps took him on barely seen before streets, until his hands clasped at the key to his meagre apartment and he settled in. Thankfully, the room came with a bed and some spare furniture.

It also came with his two teammates waiting for him.

"I'm sure I left you two behind," he said calmly.

"Duh," Naruko rolled her eyes. "You thought it would be that easy to get rid of me? Shin-chan," she shook her head, "You underestimate my rebounding strength."

"Well," Sasuke grumbled, "The average life expectancy of a shinobi is for the mid-forties anyway. I'll live to reach twenty-five. It's enough to find a nice pure-loving girl and get married…and there's nothing saying this seal can't be removed eventually."

"So," Naruko said, her voice now uncertain, "The biggest problem is Shin-chan," she nodded. "And really, I had even planned for a sleepover at my house," she pouted. "It was going to have pyjamas and ramen and us dyeing each other's hair…"

"Is that how sleepovers usually go?" Shinku asked, warily taking a seat at the table. "I don't have tea, so…"

"Duh," Naruko rolled her eyes. "That's why I sent a clone to get something."

Prophetically, said clone appeared in a rush with a handful of cans, a few packets of snacks and a large overly fluffy pillow. Said pillow revealed itself as a sort of comfortable chair, because Naruko hopped in it a moment later and stretched lazily.

Naruko's eyes drifted to his bed desk, where —now that he looked at it— someone had placed the team picture.

"Here," the girl rummaged through her pockets, before taking out a set of scrolls. "Ramen supplies for downtrodden periods," she patted a scroll, "Extra kunai and shuriken, because you never know," she patted the second, "clean underwear," she sniffled at the third one.

"I am not going to ask how or why you have male underwear," Shinku muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm really not going to ask."

"And these too," Naruko took out the pants of his uniform, "I wrote the storage seals in the inner pockets, so now you can store the scrolls in there and puff them out one at the time to make that…that funny joke about being happy to see someone and…" she sniffled. "I've already cried before, I don't do tears. I'm the awesome kunoichi Naruko Namikaze and I don't do tears."

"All right?" Shinku said awkwardly. "So…you don't need a tissue?"

Naruko proceeded to blow her nose with a tissue Sasuke offered her. "I've got some hay fever."

"Well," Sasuke grumbled. "If things get tough out there, you just let me know and I'll kick up a storm," the Uchiha crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not the heir of the Uchiha clan for nothing," he puffed his chest and raised his chin up high, "I'll use my political weight if I have to."

Naruko snorted. "Because you have weight? You sure it's not the duckbutt hair weighing you down?"

"Shut up you, what shinobi sane of his mind would go around with ponytails?"

"Hey! They're awesome!" Naruko gripped at them, "And there are at least twenty-nine different sexual acts you can do with ponytails!"

Shinku sputtered, nearly choking on his saliva as he thumped his chest.

"Shin-chan's too innocent," Naruko giggled. "How am I going to survive without the means to tease him? Uh! I know," she clapped her hands. "You've got to write to us. You can send the letter to the Hokage's mansion, and I'll read it first before handing it over to Uke-chan."

"Knowing you, you'd forge a fake letter," Sasuke retorted.

"Ohi! I would never!"

Shinku's lips twitched in a smile. There was no way he could remain depressed, there was no way he could cry. His two _friends_ were overbearing mother hens with overly powerful techniques, bloodlines and abilities. They were leagues away from him, probably centuries of training ahead, but even then they were still his friends…and he was theirs.

Probably _literally_ in Naruko's opinion —who appeared extremely possessive of whoever entered her circle of confidence. They did have their quirks and their own problems, but in some things, he had been better off —training at five, really, who would ever do that to a kid?

"Oh right. Shin-chan I've got to ask," Naruko said, "What's up with that red dot of yours? I thought it was a blood stain or something, but it's still there."

"I didn't tell you?"

"Tell what?" Naruko inclined her head to the side.

"This is a flesh eating bug," he said simply, "Well, it's actually Fu's…it remains red as long as she's alive. She gave it to me in Wave and with it, she can sense where I am…at least, that's what she said."

"Oh! Like a red string of fate?" Naruko said with a soft and half-romantic voice. "That's so…"

There was a small 'drip' sound. Sasuke's noise was dribbling blood. "Such budding love brought forth and kept apart," Sasuke's voice seemed to change inflection as he closed his eyes, sparkles appearing around his face. "Oh what tender thing I have seen, such grace and love so frail…ah, I'm bequest by the purity of—"

Naruko slammed a fist against Sasuke's head, sending the boy to twitch on the ground.

"Sorry," Naruko chuckled, "Sometimes Uke-chan does that."

"Do you always have to hit that hard, Dobe?" Sasuke snarled. "One day you're going to break my skull."

"I know you want me to break your ass, but that's not going to happen," Naruko replied with a bright smile. "You reap what you sow."

They drank tea. They ate snacks. They talked about how Shinku wasn't supposed to pop his cherry with a whore. They sang, they cried, Naruko slipped the sake somewhere in the middle of a can and they drunkenly started singing again completely off-pitched.

The next morning, Shinku woke up entangled in a mass of limbs.

He blearily managed to stand, disentangling himself and waking up the rest of his teammates in the process. He trudged half-heartedly to the bathroom, before getting ready for departure. By the time he stepped out of the apartment, both Sasuke and Naruko were flanking him.

He really felt out of place, especially when the people began to stare and talk.

"Who's that guy near my Naruko-tan?"

"That's the bastard who was overly familiar with my Sasuke-sama!"

"You think he's their teammate? Wasn't it Shikku-something, the Haruno's son?"

"You mean the son of Kizashi? Poor bloke died in the siege. His own shop crushed him."

It was then, just as he was about to step inside the Hokage's tower, that a small voice called _to him_.

"Hey! Shinobi-san!" he turned, raising an eyebrow at the sight of a kid running closer…_to him_.

"Yes?" the boy looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place him.

"Thank you for saving my life!" the kid bowed, "My pops said I should thank ya if I saw you," the child looked up towards him with sparkles in his eyes. _Sparkles_. What. _What_. _What was going on?_

_**Wounded kid. Siege.**_

"Oh," Shinku blinked. "I'm glad you're better now," he smiled lightly. "I really didn't do much."

"Nu-uh! Dad said I hafta thank you and so I did! Ye saved my life ye did!"

"Shin-chan's hobby is saving people," Naruko said then with a smirk, "but he's really shy about that, so don't spread it around too much."

"Hai, Ba-chan!"

A nervous tick mark appeared on Naruko's forehead. "Who did you call an auntie now?"

The boy scampered away in a hurry, waving goodbye to Shinku who half-awkwardly returned it.

"Someone's got an admirer," Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. "Maybe I can hand over some of my fangirls to you, Shinku…listen, how about you start wearing a wig and…"

"Denied," Shinku retorted quickly. "I still remember that story about the underwear."

"Damn," Sasuke grumbled. "Fine, leave me to my hell."

He received two pats on the back the moment he stepped on the stairway. "Well…" Naruko sniffled, "remember to write, Shin-chan!"

"And don't you dare corrupt my pure love story!" Sasuke said.

Shinku snorted.

"See you…"

_**Five Years Later.**_

"How long does a war last?" Shinku grumbled, hissing in pain as the barbed wire hastily broke to allow for a small hole. He gestured with two sharp motions to Baku, who sent back to him a call sign for the all clear from his spot on the tree.

"Funny you ask me," he hissed as he patted Cat on the back, letting the thin man go first. He disappeared in the mud beyond the barbed wire, carefully exploring for tags or traps.

"All clear," the radio in his ear buzzed. He gave the thumb-up to Baku, who relayed the call sign back beyond the trees.

There was a flicker, and soon Dog and Wolf passed through the hole in the fence.

"So this is the last one?" a meek voice murmured close to him.

"Unless Orochimaru built others," Shinku retorted. "This is the furthest one North however," he gazed at the Dragon mask near him. The girl was the team's new rookie. Just as he had been, five years before, now it was someone else's turn to be the water-food-package carrier.

"Keep sharp," Wolf's voice came through the radio, gruff and stern. "There are signs of movement in here."

"Fresh ones," Dog added softly, "Radio silence."

Anbu teamwork was flexible. Unless there was a captain —which wasn't the case— every member of the team gave orders…except the rookie, who only followed them. The teams formed around the concept that each member knew what he was doing in his area of expertise, and thus had the right to lead depending on the situation.

Dog and Wolf were the infiltration specialists. Baku and Cat were the scouts. He was the team's —much to his own surprise— 'punch' and Dragon was the rookie. She also was the team's medic alongside with Cat.

Baku gestured at him and he gave a negative, looking towards Dragon. Baku made other gestures and Shinku caved in, giving a nod.

"You keep your head down," he muttered to Dragon. "Look towards Baku, he'll warn you if something is coming. I'm going in."

"Ah…y-yes?"

The girl stuttered. It was sort of endearing in a certain way. He had stopped stuttering years before.

_**Blood.**_

His nose breathed in the iron rich scent as he crawled through the space in the fence. Following the small signs left behind by cat, he walked the safe line all the way towards the entrance of the complex. A massive bronze door dug deep into the ground, now half-open.

He pushed his back against it, peeking inside. There was silence. He took a step forward, and then another. Quickly, Shinku jumped to the ceiling of the hallway and began to crawl forward. The air was stale.

_**You ever think our old teammates have to do this sort of crap?**_

He could imagine Inner with his arms crossed and a sneer over his face, as he floated in the middle of his sand-soaked desert of a mindscape. Near him, a shackled and bound figure stood quiet.

_I don't know. We stopped receiving letters from back home._

_**Just like we never got an answer from Fu—stop.**_

Shinku stilled.

The sound of heavy breathing reached his ears. A door creaked open, revealing a black haired man holding on to the side of his head and moaning in pain. Half of his body grotesquely mutated, blood seemed to be dripping down his mouth. Shinku clasped a kunai.

_Inner._

_**I got this.**_

His eyes narrowed, the lips behind his mask became cruel as they twitched in a smirk. The grip on the kunai hardened as he flexed his legs. The Kirigakure kunai was soon in his other hand. Shinku might have preferred the Konoha variant, but he was more of a _stabbing_ person.

He jumped down without making a sound. The kunai stabbed straight at the base of the neck, slicing its way through the spine and cutting it in half as it went.

The man was dead before he reached the end of his back.

Blood sprayed over his uniform, colouring his mask of red.

"There _are_ people in here," he whispered, breaking the radio silence to warn the others.

"Understood Bird," Wolf replied. "Uphold the radio silence."

Shinku didn't reply. He just wiped away the blood from his mask with a quick flick, before returning to the ceiling.

His code-name was Bird.

He was the Assassination specialist.

He…was Anbu.

**Author's notes**

**Time Skip. You didn't expect that, did you?**

**And it's five years rather than three.**

_**Furthermore**_**, it's 'Anbu Days' time. *to be sang on the Happy Days tune***


	51. Yearning the Truth

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-One

The base was quiet. His steps on the ceiling carried him without a sound all the way to a set of double iron doors. Wolf was working on the lock, while Cat and Dog stood guard.

He tapped the ceiling thrice, loud enough for Cat's ears to pick up. The Anbu raised his head and met his own mask, before giving a light shake of the head —as if to snort— and signed the 'all right' to Dog.

Dog and Wolf were women. From his spot on the ceiling, he wouldn't have suspected it at all. Their hair cut short, barely spiky. It made it difficult to grab.

Wolf stopped after a few seconds of tinkering, giving the thumb-up. Cat and Dog moved to the sides of the door. Shinku took a deep breath, before nearing from the ceiling. The moment the door opened, he shunshin'd inside, sticking his feet to the ceiling and quickly gazing around for possible threats.

There was a soft sniffling sound from a corner, where a dark teal cover seemed to hide something alive and moving. Assessing the other possible threats, Shinku narrowed his eyes at the sight of spiky dark hair hiding behind a counter. He crept closer, not stepping into the dim lights that occupied the ceiling —if he didn't cast a shadow, the man wouldn't see him.

Wolf entered first, quickly dashing towards the nearest cover and hiding there. The man seemed to tense, before apparently gripping something from…her chest?

It was a woman. Badly mutated by whatever experiment Orochimaru had performed, she had a gaunt and withered complexion. She looked aged beyond belief, her skin wrinkled and her lips wretched.

The moment Shinku's eyes saw the explosive tag, he thrust himself down as fast as he could, and slamming the kunai straight through the woman's brain he killed her before she could even react. He gripped the tag with his other hand, tearing it in half before dropping the body on the ground.

"Mom?" the meek voice of a girl reached Shinku's ears, before he flickered back on the ceiling. Cat tensed from his spot, now hiding behind a pillar of the wall. There weren't other doors around the area, so unless they were hidden it meant they'd probably have to retrace their steps.

The sheets moved slightly, to reveal a scraggly and ill-kept face. "Mom!" the child, barely ten, screamed in fear as she neared the dead corpse. She had what looked like half of a horn sticking out of the left side of her face, and her right arm appeared a bit bigger than her left one, covered in a sort of chitin membrane. The dark haired girl gripped tightly on the sides of the dead woman, before Shinku gave a quick gaze towards Wolf.

Wolf shook her head.

Shinku gazed at Cat. Cat shook his head.

Dog awkwardly nodded.

He exhaled, before tapping on the radio.

"We're two even on possible hostage rescue," he whispered on the radio. "Girl, barely ten, mutated. She does appear sane. We might have just killed her parents… probably."

"Joy," Baku grumbled. "She might know something. I say rescue."

"Ah…Y-Yes? She might need…help?" Dragon warily said.

Shinku gave a sort-of triumphant look —that was all in the neck movement since he had a mask on— towards Wolf, who gave him the middle finger back in reply.

He gave the thumb-up to Dog, who carefully stood up from her spot and removed her mask.

Soft brown hair and hazel eyes appeared. "Hey;" the woman said softly.

The girl realized there was someone else in the room with her a moment later. Before she could scream, Shinku fell down once more and pushed down hard on the girl's neck, cutting the airflow until she nearly choked, losing consciousness.

He let go of the hold a moment later, giving a curt nod to Dog who placed the mask back on and proceeded to hoist the girl on her back.

"Take her outside and have Dragon check on her," Shinku remarked, flexing his fingers.

"You take point, Bird," Wolf said. "There were more than just three pairs of footsteps."

Clearing out a building wasn't as easy as it seemed. Every door could yield a trap. Every wall could hide a secret tag. Behind a seemingly normal staircase, there could be a bomb or a ninja wire used to alert others. Taking point was just another way for Wolf to tell him to go to hell. Anbu was the tactics and assassination squad. Having an Anbu rescue someone? Well, yes, they did that occasionally —killing the kidnappers counted— but taking _care_ of a hostage was always a chore nobody wanted to do.

Cat was mere inches behind him, scrupulously double-checking everything Shinku did along the way. It wasn't because he was bad at his job, but it was a part of the job. Two pairs of eyes were better than one.

_**Nick on the right, near the door. Kunai launcher.**_

He had three pairs of eyes.

He stopped, gesturing for the trap that Cat carefully began to work around. The point was that any trap that _could_ activate also had the mean to deactivate nearby. It wouldn't make sense to place a trap somewhere and then let it always on. Unless you had another mean to enter the room, it simply wasn't done.

A soft click, and the kunai's launcher safety engaged. Cat nodded, giving the all-clear.

Shinku jumped on the ceiling. It was the 'Bird' trademark, to strike from the top.

It was _his_ trademark.

The door slid open, revealing a set of tanks bubbling with green liquid and filled with floating corpses and twitching bodies. A loud coughing noise came from a corner, where a bunch of rags and sheets were on the ground for the sickly.

The people still alive wheezed heavily when they could breathe, all of them mutated in some way and yet painfully half-human. Some had claws, tails, or sharp and crooked teeth that had shattered their otherwise human mandibles. They were a product of misery, and yet Shinku felt absolutely nothing at their sight. It wasn't the first lab he cleared, and the refuse of Orochimaru's experiments was never pretty to look at.

The Land of Rice had capitulated in a matter of weeks, but Orochimaru and his goons hadn't understood. A war that was meant to last no more than a few months became a long and harsh grind through the countryside looking for the snake sannin's bases, hideouts, hidden troops among the population…

When fighting an enemy village, at least one could break their spirit. Orochimaru didn't care about his troops, and his men were blindly fanatic.

Even in the throes of death, they still laid their lives down for him.

He counted six sick figures, but he didn't know about the content of the tanks. From what he had heard from a fellow Anbu a few days before, some of the 'twitching' actually meant they still were alive in there.

Shinku gazed at Cat and made a tiger sign.

Cat gazed at the bodies, at the coughing and the wheezing and gave him back a 'look'. Shinku insisted on the tiger sign.

Wolf gave a curt nod. Cat acquiesced, but pointed at the counters where papers were sparsely around.

Shinku nodded, slowly gripping two kunai and letting a thin line of barbed wire cross through the holes in their handles. Cat silently made his way forward, crouching and walking on all fours as deftly as possible. There was little light in general, and as the coughing made Cat's steps even more difficult to hear, it was easy for the Anbu to grab all the salvageable and then head outside.

He stepped out last, after carefully placing explosive tags over the ceiling and hiding them with a small and black piece of cloth.

Sliding out of the door, he closed it softly behind him and primed yet another explosive on the handle.

They quickly dashed out of the base.

When the first tag detonated, soon followed by all of the others, the raging inferno killed everyone in the room and the tanks within mere instants. Shinku liked to think they didn't feel any pain as they died, and frankly it was better that way. There wasn't a cure for Orochimaru's seal, and all the sick people eventually ended up going mad with pain and rage, starting a murderous rampage that wasn't at all easy to deal with.

The child was a more manageable option as a hostage.

She also hadn't appeared as sick as the others.

"We're taking her to forward camp," Wolf grumbled, gazing at the girl. "And then we leave her in the hands of the brainy folks."

"What? Nobody wants to say it?" Baku said, gazing at the base as it burned up. "We just destroyed the last base of Orochimaru in the land of Rice. The war is over. We finished it. Our team gave the final blow to Orochimaru."

"There was nothing in there but sick people and garbage," Shinku grumbled, wiping a hand in front of him. "That's no end of the war. Orochimaru's head need to be on a pike near Konoha's gates, before we can call the war over."

"Thankfully it's the top brass decision to stop after this," Cat said with a thin smirking tone, "I can't wait to enjoy my time as a war hero. Think of the ladies that will flock over to my side when I tell them I was there, watching the last of Orochimaru's forces die."

"Ah…uh…the girl…" Dragon stammered out, "She's…fine."

"For being a mutant freak?" Wolf said.

"Y-No, I mean…she's…_fine_."

"Wait…if that's the case then the seal was applied only a few—" Dog didn't finish her sentence.

The Anbu's head, neatly severed from her shoulders, fell on the ground as blood sprayed thickly in the air. With a flash and a smoke cloud, the rest of the Anbu team disappeared.

"Naughty, naughty children," Shinku's blood froze as he dropped another smoke bomb. "Trying to get away with something of mine?"

Orochimaru was there. Orochimaru, S-rank threat to 'run on sight unless you have twenty Anbu nearby' was there. The snake sannin haughtily laughed, before the sound of crashing trees reached Shinku's ears.

"Baku's down, I've got the girl!" Wolf screamed. Shinku's heart didn't even skip a beat as he dropped the radio he carried on the ground near a proximity explosive tag.

Few minutes later, and the tag _did_ explode.

Orochimaru knew the Kage Bunshin technique —his file said so. Orochimaru held the snake summon —his file said so. Orochimaru was not an enemy to be fought one on one —his file said so.

The blood boiled.

A blinding tag, a smoke bomb and an explosive tag all left Shinku's hands and dropped behind him in rapid succession. His feet carried him further away. They had a meeting point in case 'shit hit the fan', and that was where he headed. If he survived, or if any of the other survived, they'd all meet there.

_**DOWN!**_

He fell on the ground just as the metallic blade of Orochimaru's sword slid effortlessly in the air above him, slicing down trees thicker than a body with ease.

_Take over!_

_**No need to tell me!**_

The Snake Sannin gazed at him with an amused smirk. "Little Anbu-chan, don't try to run…"

_If he's real we're dead. If he's a clone we've got a chance._

Shinku ground his teeth. "Did they never teach you it's rude to steal?" Orochimaru continued.

One hand-seal, a fireball and a volley of shuriken.

A wall of rock came up, absorbing the brunt of the blow as Shinku dashed backwards, his hands gripping on a small round container.

_Kage Bunshin or Mud Bunshin. Mud bunshin disappears after a fixed distance. This is a Kage Bunshin. We need to hit him only once…with anything._

Orochimaru came at him with speed from the left side, sword poised to strike. A Kawarimi, and the sannin sliced in half an explosive riddled log that detonated soon afterwards.

_He saw that. We didn't get him._

Shinku kept running. He had to make it to the meeting point. Orochimaru probably wouldn't pursue further.

_Orochimaru can move through the ground. Careful below._

A fist came from beneath the ground, forcing Shinku to twist his body painfully as he avoided the blow and fell rolling on the ground. His hands gripped the soil as he hastily made a backflip, jumping back on his feet.

"Would you please stop running?" Orochimaru said. "It is getting annoying."

_He's probably running short on chakra if he pursued each of us with a Kage Bunshin._

Shinku substituted with a Bunshin, using the Shunshin to appear right behind the snake sannin with his kunai ready to thrust.

Orochimaru liked to toy with his opponent —this was in the file.

The moment Orochimaru's hand gripped at his wrist, Shinku broke the round flask, letting the acid pour on his hand…and on Orochimaru's _sleeve_.

The Kage Bunshin disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Shinku ran faster than he had even run before.

He had just gained the advantage over the snake sannin.

Well, a Kage Bunshin of the snake sannin actually, but the fact was the same —as long as he got out of there before the real one came around.

His hand's palm protection fizzled a bit, leaving behind a small dent on the steel, but apart for that and some blotches of red on his fingers…he was still alive.

He didn't start to laugh maniacally, because Outer was laughing in the corner of his head for him. He flexed his legs, before diverting from the meeting point and heading straight for the forward camp. If Wolf still had Orochimaru on her tail…or if any of the others still had their own, then it would be meaningless to follow the protocol and rush ahead to his own death.

Then again, knowing Wolf, she'd be heading straight for the main camp. Dragon was probably dead, just like Dog and Baku. Cat could have made it. He might have been faster than Orochimaru to begin with.

Sure, they were members of the team, but Anbu had a mortality rate for a reason…and team members weren't fixed specifically because of it. They were all chosen for the job, they were all considered the 'best' for the job…but it didn't mean the job was easy, or it would go without deaths.

Of the team he had been the Rookie in, he was the _only_ survivor.

The shackled creature growled.

The sun was going down by the time he started to slow down. He didn't stop running, but he did slow down enough to take in his surroundings with more calm.

_There's an owl on that branch._

A moment later, he had an owl on a kunai. Fire chakra poured through the weapon, burning at the bird from the inside out.

_At least remove the feathers._

Grumbling, Inner did just that as he kept up his run across the branches.

"Dinner on the fly," he said. He chuckled a moment later. "That's a nice one, isn't it?"

"I hope it tastes like chicken," Outer mumbled.

"We lack salt and spices. It'll taste like burned pigeon."

A bite later and Inner groaned. "I want salt."

"Let's ask the quartermaster back at base if he has any," he mumbled. "Maybe we can claim it's for a technique or something."

The trees didn't reply. Inner snorted. "Yeah? Like what? 'Melt the Ice technique'?"

"What about 'keep the water from icing' jutsu? I'm sure _that_ would work."

The moon was high by the time Shinku reached forward camp. Well, he called it 'camp' but it actually was a small riverside village with brick houses. He caught his breath atop the rooftop closest to the camp, before jumping down and slamming his shoulder against the nearby wall. He carefully knocked thrice on the side of the door, keeping his body out of sight.

"It's late tonight, come back tomorrow," a voice grumbled half-asleep —anyone would have placed it as belonging to the old and grumbling shopkeeper of the nearby grocery store.

"I just need some fire, the night is cold."

The door clicked open, and Shinku slid in. There were different levels of 'security' to enter an Anbu safehouse. Never remain in front of the door, knock a certain amount of times, say a specific code and once inside tap twice the side of your mask. Each safehouse also had a more specific and week-changing code, which was usually delivered in groups of four —if you were more than one month late on an assignment, you were probably dead anyway.

"Bird? The rest of the team?"

"Complication. Snake Alert. Send message. He's possibly still in the area," Shinku spoke quickly. "Baku and Dog confirmed deceased."

The man wearing the Monkey mask stiffened, before rushing to his colleagues further in the safehouse. Shinku walked towards the fridge, ignoring the mumbles of the other Anbu in the house. He opened the refrigerator, taking out a cold ice pack and holding it over his reddish fingers.

He exhaled, before dropping it back in and taking out a bottle of water. He knew what was going to happen in less than five minutes, so he drank it down and gripped at the nearest protein bar. Owl tasted like hell, even worse than the cardboard taste milkshakes and jerky.

Nobody in the room said a word.

He was halfway through a package of jerky when the door opened. "Bird, Team Mongoose is here."

He nodded, and he was out as fast as he could.

There weren't any words spoken. Team Mongoose was, aptly put, a two-man team. It was made of the only two people who could battle Orochimaru to a draw or defeat him.

Jiraiya of the Sannin and Minato Namikaze.

He stood to attention in front of the Hokage for barely an instant, before starting to run back in the direction he had last seen Orochimaru's clone.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about why Naruko had stopped answering his letters, or if he could get leave or how Fu was or things like that. The fact was…he didn't see a need for it. Time was of the essence. He'd deal with the rest of his problems when the time came, but as it was he had a duty to uphold.

He had to see that snake impaled on the ground in one way or another, and there really wasn't another swifter way than this.

He owed it to Bear and the others of his first Anbu team.

Minato Namikaze watched the back of operative Bird for a split second, before returning to gaze at his surroundings. The Anbu looked comparatively young, but he hadn't gazed at his file. Whenever someone called the 'Snake' alert, he dropped everything and summoned both himself and Jiraiya to the safehouse where the alert was.

The Hiraishin was useful for that.

He did wonder for a brief moment if the Bird operative in front of him was Shinku, but he couldn't ask. Anbu could not remove their mask and state their names until they finished their service. Still, if it was Shinku, he'd have to ask him a very important question.

_Why did he stop writing back?_

**Author's notes**

**And the plot thickens.**


	52. Of Everyday Life and Homecomings

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Two

Naruko Namikaze delivered one letter to the shinobi courier every day, without a fault. Even if she hadn't received an answer back in three years, she still dutifully sent a letter each day telling what she had done the day before. Sasuke was simply a sour puss who thought that it was useless, and that they should simply wait for Shin-chan to come back and then interrogate him with the liberal use of Genjutsu, but she thought otherwise.

After delivering the letter, her daily routine began. Her clones went around the village, they went in the library, they studied techniques, and they perfected Taijutsu movements or practiced Ninjutsu. She trained in the Hokage's mansion gym. Methodically, without a fault, without a moment of silence, she trained.

She had a Kage Bunshin follow around Sasuke when he had free time, because she didn't have free time. They were still at war, and she had to show off she was working hard. She knew how to work hard —she always did.

She had been unable to write letters to Fu, because during war there was the risk of the normal mail being intercepted —and shinobi couriers only worked for deliveries from the frontlines to the village and viceversa until peace time.

Plainly put, until the mid-afternoon came when her clones would start dispersing one after the other, delivering their notions to her, she did nothing but train and keep her mind away from various thoughts.

One of the most dangerous ones was also the one she wished desperately wasn't true. Sure, her father had told her, repeatedly, that no notification of Shinku dying had been forwarded…but it didn't mean anything. Maybe he was dead, and nobody realized it because there were a lot of shinobi with Bird masks on —she had wiggled out the mask from her father since 'breaching protocol' meant shit to her when it came to her friends.

Therefore, every day, Naruko Namikaze trained and tried to ignore the possible bad things that might have happened to Shin-chan without someone keeping an eye on him.

The only reason she hadn't gone to the frontlines to look for him was simple too: she was putting off the confrontation. Because if he actually was ignoring her letters, if he actually wasn't answering back because of this or that reason, then…

Then nothing, because she clearly wouldn't start wailing like a child. She was eighteen years old, she had a pair of perky voluptuous breasts and curves women would die for, and there was no way in hell Shin-chan wouldn't want her as a friend.

She stifled down a sniffle, and returned to her stretching.

Everything was going to be fine.

Sasuke Uchiha checked the mailbox every morning, before grumbling a little curse and heading off to the hospital. He was both a patient and a doctor, meaning he had the uncanny chance of seeing the world on both sides of the barricade. On one side, he treated patients proficiently and with care —kicking out the occasional fan girl or would-be-wife.

On the other side, he took a vast and different array of pills and medication designed to slow down the dripping of Senjutsu chakra coming from the seal into his body. The slow trickle was nothing more than a single drop of chakra a day, and yet in five years it already had filled a cup's worth.

His life expectancy had gone up by two more years however, meaning he would survive until he was twenty-seven.

"The Uchiha's fan is red," he mumbled as he read yet another fan girl's postcard. "The Uchiha's coat is blue, my one true love, that's just you."

He shook his head in disbelief.

Finally, he began his rounds around the hospital. He liked the geriatric section more than the others —the old ladies were kind grannies, and way over the menopause. He really didn't understand what girls saw in him. Sure, he was —in his modest opinion— a good catch, but was that enough of a reason to flirt? Clearly, they were probably enjoying it in their own way.

His Mangekyou-memory reminded him of that time Shinku was squirming with a sleeping Naruko nearby and he chuckled at the good memory. Then, he remembered clearly the time he had discharged a young patient who had vowed to become a cool doctor like him. He remembered the hug of a little girl getting back on her feet after a broken foot.

He remembered the funny jokes of the medical assistant, and with a bright smile etched on his features, Sasuke Uchiha walked through the white hallway.

He was _happy_.

"Neh, Uchiwa-sama," a sultry voice whispered in his ear, "I need something for my bothersome warmth."

Sasuke sighed. Leave it to Naruko to destroy any moment of pure bliss he stumbled upon. "Dobe."

"Ohi," Naruko grumbled, crossing her arms and pushing her chest upwards —since she had discovered she now _could_ do that, she did it every single time. "Don't you want to snuggle your face in these babies? My beautiful Uchiha-sama?"

"Cut it off before I cut those off," Sasuke retorted calmly.

"My poor babies," Naruko exclaimed, "Don't you dare frighten them!" she proceeded to 'hug' her breasts, "Shameless! You're really shameless Uke-chan!"

"You know you can't follow me when I enter a patient's room," Sasuke deadpanned. "Wait out here and be good."

"All right, all right," Naruko grumbled.

Sasuke entered the room, closing the door behind him as he grabbed the patient's medical chart.

"So," and that was when he froze. His eyes snapped immediately to the woman near the bed, and then to the _child_ sitting on the border of the bed he used for exams.

He made a strained smile. "What seems to be the problem, madam?"

"She's been having this cough and runny nose for a while," Mebuki Haruno said, gazing at the child on the bed with concern. "I don't really know what to do."

The girl coughed. "I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem sweetie," Mebuki smiled warmly.

Sasuke believed he would be justified if he used Amaterasu. He didn't, mostly because it _was_ murder and traumatizing a child was not something he looked forward to. Maybe the woman hadn't realized who he was —difficult— or maybe she had decided to feign ignorance.

"Let me have a look at you then," his right hand softly glowed green as he neared the girl's chest, "Take a deep breath," he instructed her.

The girl obediently did so.

"So, when did she start the symptoms?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice controlled.

The woman turned thoughtful, before answering. "A few months ago, but now it's just getting worse."

"It's allergy," Sasuke replied calmly, "The cherry blossoms are in full bloom right about now, so she's probably allergic to their pollens. It's nothing to worry about," Sasuke scribbled down a prescription —he was inches away from suggesting a full-out invasive surgery on the woman, but stopped from writing it down.

Really, he was easily riled up only when it concerned that stupid insensitive friend of his who had the guts not to write back!

He was going to have a word with him —a long, Mangekyou induced word.

He bid the two goodbye, waving at Mai-chan —such was the name of the girl— before leaving and grabbing Naruko by the wrist to carry her to the next room promptly —empty, luckily.

"Hey! Uke-chan! So rough!" she moaned, "I'm not ready yet! Shouldn't we tell something to our parents first? Come on!"

"Stay here," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he blocked the doorway.

Naruko's head inclined to the side. "What are you trying to hide?"

"Nothing," Sasuke replied. "Absolutely nothing."

"So," Naruko sat down on the examination bed. "You want to play the sexy doctor and the overly hot patient?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No."

Naruko pouted. "You meanie."

The next moment, Naruko flashed towards the door only for Sasuke to form a mini-Susanoo shield to hold her inside.

Naruko's eyes narrowed.

"Very well," she acquiesced. Sasuke wasn't fast enough to stop her, and a hand seal later a clone appeared and puffed.

Naruko smiled as Sasuke let the Susanoo's small shield disappear. "Now," the girl crossed her arms behind her head, "What was it you were hiding? You can tell me or I'll know eventually!"

"I am protecting the privacy of the patient," Sasuke acquiesced. "And his wellbeing while in the hospital."

Naruko simply kept up her smile.

Five minutes later, and she walked off.

Sasuke didn't even stop her. He had patients to take care of —and probably, one more would come around lamenting extreme rashes all over her body soon enough anyway.

Shinku Haruno, codenamed Bird, closed his eyes for a moment and slid Cat's eyes down. Orochimaru had ripped the man's heart cleanly. It appeared obvious that Baku had tried to grab the girl first —only for Orochimaru to stab him in the back— before Wolf had begun her run with her. They had all headed in the same direction as Wolf to provide assistance…except him.

He had followed orders.

Now it was his turn to follow as Jiraiya of the Sannin and the Yondaime tracked down the trail. He sealed the corpses of the members of his team in one of his storage scrolls, and then pursued the two men of team Mongoose.

He probably would feel a twinge of something if Dragon died. Probably being the key term. She was the Rookie, and a meek and stuttering girl at that.

"Have you had any previous encounters with Orochimaru, Bird?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied dutifully.

"How many teammates did you lose?"

"None," he remarked.

"Lucky brat," Jiraiya grumbled. "Well, it seems the trail's gone cold. It's been a few hours at least and the toads don't smell any snake nearby."

"Was there a meeting point for your team?" Minato asked the Anbu, who gave back a quick nod.

"Let's head there first."

Shinku obeyed, flickering in a shunshin and slamming his foot against the wooden branch before pushing his entire body forward. The meeting point was a rocky spot near a small river, easy to find in the mostly forest and fields land.

_**BLOOD.**_

_Inner._

_**I'm on to it.**_

"Blood ahead," he snarled out, palming his Kirigakure kunai.

Minato couldn't forget it. He knew of only one shinobi in his forces that used such a weapon. He was about to call out to the Anbu in question, when the sound of battle reached his ears.

"Kaiten!" a female voice barked out fast, as Dragon's body spun as fast as she could to deflect the attack. The wind bullets slammed against the chakra shield and, deflected, slammed into the ground nearby.

Shinku halted on a branch, observing the scene from his vantage point. Dragon was alive —wounded, but alive. Wolf was there too, albeit on the ground and with a wide gash on her sides.

Therefore, the woman hadn't gone towards the main camp.

Most importantly, _Orochimaru_ was still there.

"You've run to the end of your line, brat," the snake sannin snarled. "I'll have your eyes on a silver—"

The Yondaime and Jiraiya both nodded to one another, before disappearing in flickers of shunshin. Minato's Hiraishin kunai covered a circle around the snake sannin, while Jiraiya unclasped and opened a scroll, before slamming it on the ground.

Ink symbols and seals spread out across the ground, before lightning up in a flash and forming a barrier that completely trapped Orochimaru inside.

"Hey there Orochi," Jiraiya said. "You done running away now?"

Orochimaru of the Sannin snorted, "You think this is going to stop me?"

"No," Minato acquiesced from outside the barrier, "But this is," and the Yondaime summoned a Kage Bunshin.

"What makes you think I'm the real one anyway!?" Orochimaru yelled, "I might be a Bunshin!"

"I'll take the risk," Minato said. "And if you're not the real one, then go ahead and disperse."

Orochimaru spat to the side. "I am Orochimaru! I won't be defeated by a mere Kage Bunshin!"

Minato smiled, watching as the Kage Bunshin formed the rasengan in his hand. "I completed the rasengan, so you know," the Yondaime said. Lightning cracked the surface of the chakra sphere, "Thanks to my daughter no less," he added. "You will find the barrier isn't there to contain you…"

The hair on the back of Shinku's neck rose as he felt his saliva fizzle in his mouth.

"But to contain the power of this," and then, the Kage Bunshin with the completed Raiton Rasengan appeared within the barrier thanks to the Hiraishin…and the detonation forced Shinku to avert his gaze as the ground cracked.

Even though the barrier did hold, deadening the brunt of the attack, when the lightning was over…there was nothing remaining behind.

Nothing except for the Kusanagi's blade.

Charred, covered in smoke, but still there.

Shinku didn't exhale in relief. He wanted a corpse. He needed a corpse. He couldn't believe 'this' was it. It had been too fast. It had been too quick, too easy. Why toy with Dragon and Wolf all day? Why act like this?

No, this wasn't possible and it didn't make any sense.

Inner took care of scouting the surroundings, and so deep within the blood soaked sands of his mind, Outer was free to think.

_It's a trap. For what? What does Orochimaru gain from faking his death? With his death…doesn't this mean the war is over? And with the war over…the borders' security would loosen up. With security down, he'd be able to leave for another country and—_

"Come on down, Bird-chan," Jiraiya said, waving his hand in Shinku's direction. "The danger is over."

Bird inclined his head to the side, before flickering down on the ground.

Dragon was panting hard, but dropped her guard when she saw Bird. Wolf tried to wheeze out something, but the Yondaime was fast enough to grip onto her and the girl she held before disappearing in a flicker of Hiraishin.

"Well," Jiraiya said, gazing at the two Anbu. "You both saw Orochimaru kick the bucket, right?"

"About that—" Shinku began, only for Jiraiya to shake his head.

"Yes, I know, this might all be one big move of his, but he left behind his sword," the toad sannin pointed at the Kusanagi, "And I'm going to have it shattered. So he might have escaped and faked his death, but the war is over and his sword will be destroyed."

"S-rank secret?"

"Until he makes a blunder and shows himself once more," Jiraiya nodded. "Now let's head back."

The toad sage began to walk at a leisurely pace.

"Forward camp is that way, Jiraiya-sama," Shinku deadpanned, pointing in the opposite direction. Dragon remained frozen stiff where she was, unsure on what to do.

"Yes," the toad sannin replied, stopping to gaze back at Shinku, "But Konoha is this way."

"We can't take leave without—"

"Ohi, I'm a Sannin you know? I'm higher up on the military of Konoha and I say you two earned an early return home."

Dragon gazed towards Shinku, who just acquiesced in the end. "Very well," he said, "You assume responsibility for whatever might happen."

"Yeah, yeah…stick up your ass that you are," humming, the Toad sannin began to walk once again.

Naruto Namikaze stopped writing letters every day and did one thing every morning after hearing that the war was over: she sat down, in wait, at the Northern Gate. A day later, Sasuke Uchiha did one thing every morning. He sat down, in wait, at the Northern Gate.

The shinobi returning from the war trickled in one after the other in groups, or in small parties. The Anbu arrived at night, or during the middle of the day. Sasuke's eyes trailed over every Bird masked Anbu who looked sort-of like Shinku would, but they all came short.

Naruko hummed to herself in wait. She always hummed the same catchy tune, acting like a child ready to eat cotton candy.

The fourth day, she stood up and began to stretch.

Sasuke inclined his head to the side, but said nothing.

The seventh day, when already Naruko had stopped doing stretches and had begun cracking her knuckles in wait, Jiraiya of the Sannin returned home with two Anbu escorts.

Two extremely pissed off Anbu escorts, judging by how they both appeared to be barely holding their anger inside.

"It was just a friendly detour!" Jiraiya bellowed, "See? We're back here aren't we!?"

"We went through five whorehouse," Dragon deadpanned, her voice now firm and controlled. "Five."

"Don't call my Geisha-chan whores! It's offensive and rude!" Jiraiya replied with a mock-offended tone. The toad sannin then gazed at Naruko and widened his arms, "If it isn't my goddaughter! Naru-chan, have you come to meet good old me!?"

Naruko cracked her knuckles. "Ohi, you've got anything to say in your defence mister?"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "What? But you aren't against me whoring! Don't tell me you became a prude while I wasn't looking!"

"I'm not talking with you, Honourable Pervert Master," she gazed at Shinku. "I'm talking with him."

Shinku pointed a finger at himself.

"Yes, you," Naruko cracked her neck. "Three years without a letter! I said you had to write one every day!"

Shinku blinked behind his mask. It was an instant, and he connected the dots. Probably, the Hokage had looked through the file of the Anbu team assigned to the mission he had been on, and then he had seen his real name and told Naruko.

"Until this mask is delivered back in the Hokage's hands I cannot confirm nor deny who I am."

Naruko growled, before smiling warmly. She disappeared from sight.

_**DOWN.**_

The punch soared through the air above him, but the wind pressure was enough to _crack_ his mask.

"Oh? Someone's gotten fast," Naruko smirked, before trying to bring her hand back down on Shinku's head. He substituted with a log, letting the wooden implement crash and break into splinters as he pushed himself behind Jiraiya's body.

"There is a protocol for this," Shinku said. "And I fear for my safety if I do comply."

"Oh, don't worry Shin-chan," Naruko inclined her head to the side, her smile feral as she cracked her knuckles. "I'm just going to have a normal and friendly chat with you."

"May I first head to the Hokage's tower to deliver my mask?"

"Aha! So you're not refuting being Shin-chan!"

"The Hokage told you, probably," Shinku deadpanned back. Naruko cheekily grinned.

"Well, why didn't you answer back uh? Where are my answers!? I wrote you a letter each day, and I haven't gotten an answer back to any of them!"

"I wrote you back," Shinku retorted. "You stopped answering."

"What? No way!" Naruko spluttered, "I wrote one just a week ago! I even put extra stamps on it!"

"Dobe," Sasuke sighed. "How about you let Shinku deliver his mask, and then I check with the Mangekyou if he's lying or not? That way we're both in the clear and if he's saying the truth…then someone else is to blame."

"What?" Naruko looked lost for a moment, "You mean my ball-stomping Technique to make Shin-chan Repent is useless?"

Shinku tightened his hold on the back of Jiraiya.

"Now, now," Jiraiya brought his hands up. "What did I tell you about a man's most precious treasure, Naru-chan?"

"It must be treated with kindness and concern," Naruko replied brightly, "But it's also the first thing to chop off if he makes you sad."

"Sorry kid," Jiraiya mumbled. "I'm out."

He puffed away in smoke.

Shinku gripped the smoke for a moment, before resigning himself to face the full-out brunt of the onslaught.

The blurry form of Naruko tackled him, her weight slamming him down on the ground hard as his breathing came less.

"Shin-chan!" Naruko cried out, wailing like an overly emotional teenager. If it weren't for the two lumps of soft flesh that pressed against his chest, he'd think it no differently than having a toddler crying near him. "I missed you!"

"Stop making a fuss in public," Sasuke grumbled, before walking closer and offering a hand up. "I hope you're telling the truth Shinku, because if I find out you're lying about the letters…do you know she nearly killed a courier ninja when they said they couldn't get a hold of you? Really," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Ohi," Naruko whined, standing back up and wiping away her tears. "You were the one who set him on fire."

"He wanted me to file a 'complaint form' and I know how it works with complaint forms in offices: they're shredded during the night and then burned."

Dragon just fidgeted from her spot, completely forgotten.

"Well, let's go," Naruko gripped hard on Shinku's wrist. "After we deal with this, we find who the bastard is that stole Shin-chan's letters, and then we kick his ass all the way to hell and beyond."

"I did need someone to try Tsukuyomi on," Sasuke grumbled. "Seventy-two hours of eternal death, I wonder who would remain sane after that."

The Uchiha gripped on his other wrist.

"Are you two scared I'll try to make a run for it?" Shinku asked in disbelief, only to receive a pair of raised eyebrows back in response.

"Not scared," Naruko pouted, "Worried, maybe."

"I'm just making sure you stick with us all the way. You're a fundamental requirement to keeping Naruko quiet, and thus holding me sane," Sasuke said. "I've heard enough complicated theories on what happened to you during the war time that I think if you ever disappeared from sight tomorrow, Naruko might just believe there are evil shinobi from the Land of Ramen set out to kidnap you."

"The land of ramen?" Shinku blinked, "Naruko…did you grow up a bit in these years?"

"Of course!" Naruko pouted, before letting go and grabbing her breasts with both hands. "See? Didn't I grow?"

Sasuke proceeded to slam a fist on Naruko's head —letting go.

Shinku sighed. He wondered if it was some sort of technique. He was back by just…a few minutes, and already he felt at home.

He was glad for the mask because otherwise, for the first time in three years, someone would have seen him cry.

He proceeded to walk past them, gesturing at Dragon to follow him.

"And really, the first thing you do is tell him about the Ramen Ninjas? That was just a joke when I was young!"

"Dobe, you told me that story two weeks ago!"

"We're leaving you behind!" Shinku exclaimed, waving a hand to the two bickering teammates of his.

They actually did break the sound barrier reaching for his side.

"Ohi," Naruko said as they walked. "Who's the Chibi?" she gazed at Dragon.

"Dragon," Shinku replied, "The Rookie."

"H-Hello Namikaze-sama," Dragon stuttered out.

"You haven't forgotten about Fu-chan, have you?" Naruko asked warily.

Shinku shook his head, before showing his right hand. "I'm sure with the war over, I'll get the chance to write to her again."

On the back of his hand, the flesh-eating bug remained with its bright red coloured carapace.

"Good!" Naruko smiled.

The two teammates of his actually had to wait outside as he and Dragon stepped inside the Hokage's office to remove their masks.

It was mainly a formality, but one that had to be followed.

Minato made an awkward smile. "She didn't hit you hard, did she?"

Shinku shook his head. "I dodged the first blow."

"Good, I was reviewing your missions in Anbu and there's…well, you have a really long overdue appointment with Inoichi of all things and a few medals to receive for the battle at Paddy Fields' swamp…" Minato's words trailed off as Shinku calmly removed his mask.

His piercing crimson eyes gazed hard at the Hokage with a look of steel and fire, as his face riddled with small scars and nicks looked every bit like one of those that belonged to an old soldier, rather than a fresh rookie.

"It was a slaughter, not a battle," Shinku said quietly. He turned to gaze at Dragon, raising an eyebrow in wait. The girl trembled for a split second, before carefully gripping at the sides of her mask and pulling it away.

The milky white eyes told him it was a Hyuga. The pale dark hair and the lineaments were familiar, but he hadn't seen the girl before.

Dragon was three years his junior, and her skin was still soft —she hadn't been assigned for more than a month.

"Anyway, you received a promotion on the field after that…slaughter, therefore I reinstate you, Haruno Shinku, back in the ranks of Konoha's active shinobi as a Jounin, while," here he turned to Dragon, "I reinstate you, Hanabi Hyuga, as a Tokubetsu Jounin for service rendered."

The girl seemed displeased for a brief moment, before nodding awkwardly.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"You're both dismissed," and with those words, they both stepped outside.

He looked towards Sasuke —who was already standing there with the sharingan at the ready— and said crisply. "I did not receive any reply from Naruko after two years and since I stopped receiving letters, I stopped sending them after a while."

Sasuke's sharingan disappeared. "He's telling the truth or he's become a prodigious liar in the meantime."

"Good," Naruko grumbled. "Why are you still here, Chibi?" Naruko growled then towards Hanabi, who appeared shocked to be on the receiving end of such a growl and a 'wave of fist'.

"Enough," Shinku's left arm went up in front of Hanabi, and to that actually…

Well, Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as Naruko's mouth hung open.

"W-What!? Shin-chan! You feeling sick or something!? Y-You just…"

"I'm famished for something warm," Shinku said plainly, "And eating without the trouble of the mask is going to be a delight. Is that Yakiniku near the grocery shop still open?" he received a nod from Sasuke.

"Let's go," he gazed at Hanabi. "Wolf did say she'd offer us a meat dinner if we all survived. I'll just offer the first round."

"G-Gah!" Naruko's hands went to her hair. "An exorcist! Shin-chan's possessed!"

Sasuke sighed. "People change, Dobe."

"B-But!" Naruko slumped down her shoulders in defeat. "All right, all right," she grumbled. "Let's go eat…"

They began to walk.

"By the way, what's the deal with the battle at Paddy Fields?"

Shinku's lips tightened lightly. "That's…not something I want to talk about."

Silence fell as they walked.

Sasuke mentally jolted down the name, as did Naruko. They gave a quick nod to one another, and then acted like normal. They'd check on it afterwards.

Naruko was sure…the Ramen ninjas had to be involved somehow!

**Author's notes**

**And we're back on track.**

**I never wrote a story that had Hanabi Hyuga a part of anything major. (I did kill her in The Harsh Truth, but that's about it.)**

**Time to correct that.**


	53. Minding One's Own Mind

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Three

He had more than a few S-ranks under his belt, thankfully. He should have remembered Naruko's appetite to be legendary. The way the meat seemed to disappear as it dropped in front of the girl was astonishing. A few pieces, he was sure Naruko ate raw.

"Eat up, Rookie," he said towards Hanabi, who looked from him to the food and then towards his teammates —who were scarfing down food without any ounce of modesty.

"Sho!" Naruko exclaimed, her mouth full, "What's that about Phaddy Pields?"

"It's nothing I like to talk about," Shinku replied quietly, taking a sip of plum sake and grumbling through it. "Don't even know why I'm trying this."

"Ohi, alcohol's bad for you Shin-chan!" Naruko exclaimed.

"Have to die of something eventually," he replied. "And I did promise," he mumbled softly.

"_And when the war is over, you'll get properly smashed and enjoy the wonders of alcoholic induced hallucinations!"_

"_If you say so, Bear."_

He began to eat and munch on the meat in silence, his eyes scanning the waiters and the other customers. They were all looking in their direction —not surprising.

"So Chibi," Naruko said, "How do you know Shin-chan?"

"Ah," Hanabi said, "I was assigned to Team Wolf a month ago. He was my primary caretaker."

Naruko snorted. "Kids these days…in my times, you don't become a Jounin until you were at least eighteen."

Shinku inclined his head to the side. "I became Jounin at fifteen."

Naruko sputtered out the water she had been sipping. "WHAT!? No way! How!?"

"The same way Kakashi became one at thirteen," he retorted.

"Oh, right, Kakashi-Nii," Naruko said softly. Shinku raised an eyebrow.

Naruko bit her lips. Shinku waited.

"He's freeloading as always. He said he wouldn't get a team until all of his adorable soldiers were back."

Shinku's right eyebrow twitched.

"So he survived the Kusanagi's poison?"

"Of course he did! Baa-chan took care of it!" Naruko smiled brightly, "She was really a flash at that, only a few weeks of therapy and he was back on his feet!"

Sasuke gazed at Hanabi. "How old are you?"

"Ah…fifteen, Uchiha-sama," the girl replied quietly.

"You went into Anbu so young?"

Hanabi nodded. "It was…I finished the academy early and became Chuunin at eleven, so…"

"What's up with the new generation?" Naruko whined, "All passing us by! Sniffle, I feel so old Uke-chan…what if my breasts start to sag? Ohi Shin-chan, if they start sagging, you'll massage them right?"

Shinku smiled. "Of course."

Naruko shrieked, jumping from her spot to the upper corner of the chair like a scared cat, hissing in fright. "Uke-chan! Help! They corrupted Shin-chan! You can't! You have to splutter and stutter!"

Shinku chuckled. "That's long in the past," he whispered.

"_You show a bit of breast here, a bit there…there isn't a man who doesn't look. See?"_

"_Gah! Get them off my face, Cat!"_

"That's two strikes," Sasuke said quietly. "At the third one, I'm pulling my teammate card and forcing you to answer."

Shinku gazed with a small twitching smile towards Sasuke, before nodding.

Naruko returned to her seat, cradling her breasts in fright.

Hanabi actually gazed down at hers for a moment, before looking back up with a light blush on her cheeks as she heard Shinku make a small 'heh' sound that sounded terribly like a snicker.

"I wasn't—"

"It's all right Chibi," Naruko said with a knowing nod, "They'll grow."

A bottle of sake found its way on the table, a very big bottle of sake. Shinku gazed at the waiter, who made a small nervous smile. "A gift from the honourable sirs of that table," and with that, the waiter gazed at a table where four shinobi with the Jounin jacket stood. They gave him a nod of recognition, and Shinku inclined his head to the side before returning it with a politely mouthed thanks.

"So, what did you do while in Anbu, Shin-chan?" Naruko asked, curiously moving her head from the four Jounin back to the bottle. "Especially to get such a big bottle?"

"I just did my job," he muttered. "I was in a rescue team that went behind the enemy lines, our job was to save the infiltration guys who got captured or check if the safehouse were breached. My team probably did save those guys or maybe we didn't and they think I'm one of those who did…doesn't really matter. I was just doing my job…"

"And Chibi helped out too?" Naruko asked.

"No, the rescue team was the first team I was in," Shinku said. "I spent two years with them, being the Rookie. Then…I moved to a supply team, before entering an assassination team and finally ending up in Wolf's 'cleaning' team."

Naruko was about to say something, but Sasuke interrupted.

"That was strike three."

Shinku just smiled. "Oh? Really?" he chuckled. "That's not going to change anything."

"You know I can just check with dad," Naruko said, "Won't take much to find out what happened."

"Ah, abusing your father's power now Naru-chan?" Shinku said with a small smile, shaking his head, "Isn't that the cowards' way to go?"

Silence fell for a moment at the table.

"Shin-chan?"

"No," Shinku smiled brightly. "It's been a while. How have you lot been doing?"

"Oh," Naruko blinked. "Murder-Happy Shin-chan! You're still in there!?"

Inner snorted. "Of course I'm in here, I'm _always_ in here."

Hanabi gazed perplexedly at the scene. She didn't understand what was going on, but she resolved to simply watch.

"Well, why don't you tell us what happened?" Naruko pouted. "I'm not headbutting you here, but we can take it outside if you want."

"Like I give a damn," Inner snorted. "Want to know what happened? Fine, enjoy the tale; I wonder if you feel happy at night knowing you're a busybody always barging in other people's life."

"Shin-chan isn't—"

"It's the same principle," Inner retorted. "If I don't want to talk about it, I don't talk about it. Your bullheadedness is going to be your downfall one day, and you'll probably die old and with saggy breasts surrounded by cats and empty ramen cups."

Naruko winced, before clenching her fists. "You started rotting while you were alone, Murder-Happy Shin-chan?"

"You want to call me something, call me Shinku or don't call me at all," Inner snarled. "Who do you think was there to pick up the pieces after the letters stopped, uh? You think seeing a team you've been together for two years through thick and thin be slaughtered right in front of you is worthy of a tale at dinner?"

His eyes shone with anger as he clasped his hands together and placed his elbows on the table. "Well, fine. Two years, I spent _two years_ with the Anbu team and receiving letters from you. I answered back with what I could without infringing rules, and that was that…then the battle of Paddy Fields came around and I had to pick the pieces, I had to be the one to be there for him, because there was no one else!"

Shinku gripped the sake bottle and drank half of it in one go, before putting it back on the table. "It was a _slaughter_, we were set up because of false information and we ended up ambushed. It was meant to be a supply line, we were meant to rescue a few prisoners…it was an armed group of twenty-five shinobi from Sound," he ground his teeth. "We shouldn't have engaged, but they were aiming for the makeshift hospital camp nearby. We had to warn the forward camp, so we had to hold them off. We sent a runner, but she was ambushed and killed by five more," his hands clenched furiously.

"In the end, we were _three_ against thirty. There weren't any trees, only the marsh and the rice fields. The first to die was Bear. He took down six shinobi before kicking the bucket. Cat died next, she took out four. And I took down _twenty_," he chuckled grimly. "Turns out, an overdose of soldier pills works wonders when you don't care about your life."

He exhaled, letting his back fall against the chair, "they gave me a shiny parchment saying I was a nice good Anbu for doing the right thing and a field promotion to Jounin. Then they placed me in another team, and then another, and then one more…"

Shinku gazed at the food on the table. "Now, are you satisfied?"

Naruko didn't say a word. Sasuke couldn't say anything either. He knew Naruko wasn't the height of grace and generally attacked every problem in front of her with brute force to solve them, but he couldn't fault Shinku for having snapped at her.

He couldn't fault Naruko for being worried, but…

"I'm…" Naruko bit her lips, trying to come up with words but they all slipped out of her mind as she kept on looking at the gaze of utter disgust Shin-chan had on his face.

"I should…probably go," Hanabi muttered.

"I'll leave too," Shinku acquiesced, standing up. He slammed the money on the table, more than enough to cover the food expenses, and then he stepped outside, walking briskly towards his apartment.

He nearly missed a step as he mumbled out.

"Did you have to be that harsh?"

"She was asking for it," Inner hissed. "And we both know she would have insisted and begged and sniffled, and frankly? This way she knows, and maybe she'll learn a lesson with it."

"But…"

"We've been fine for years now Shinku," he hissed. "We don't need them. We don't need anyone. We are more than enough as we are. You, me and this thing here," there was a low growl from the shackled individual, "We're enough."

"But she wasn't responsible for the letters…someone else…"

"Does it matter? In the end, she chose not to pursue it. Stick to yourself, it works."

His hurried footsteps carried him all the way towards his door, which he opened without wasting time. The room wasn't dusty. It had an old 'Welcome Back Shin-chan' sign and balloons hanging from the ceiling. There was a cake set up, and a chibi-smiling image of Naruko on a small note that read 'I set this up with Kage Bunshin. Surprised?'

He slammed his right hand against the wall, watching as it cracked. He was angry, angry at things and at himself, and at everyone and no one in particular. He ground his teeth as he nearly roared, gripping the sides of his head with his eyes wide. He breathed deeply, falling down on his knees before closing his eyes shut.

"It's all right," Inner's back was against his, as they both sat in the blood soaked desert, gazing at the dark bleeding moon that hung up in the sky of his mind. "I'll always have your back."

"It hurts."

"Let it go," Inner whispered. "Let it go. I'll take it. Hand it over. Give me your pain, my shoulders are strong enough."

"They had no right to ask."

"They had no right to ask," Inner replied. "They had no right to demand, they had no right to barge in and ask for answers they weren't meant to hear."

"How many did we kill?"

"Don't ask for a number, I lost count;" Inner murmured. "Inoichi is going to have a field day tomorrow."

"We can always skip."

"Yeah," Inner rolled his eyes. "That is so going to work."

The cake was in the trashcan by the time he woke up the next morning, and the decorations shredded and thrown away.

He grumbled as he stepped outside. He hadn't received any summons from the Hokage, so he was still in the clear. He'd do the groceries —the fridge was somewhat lacking in everything but ramen.

The sun's glow seemed very bright for his mood that morning. He began to walk, ignoring the gossip that seemed to circle around his appearance. He was wearing his usual reinforced jacket —with Anbu Uniform beneath it— and his hair cut short with the back cropped in a small spiky ponytail. Maybe it was his face, or his murder-inclined eyes.

He entered a supermarket, grabbed a basket and was off.

Everything was perfectly fine. If he kept repeating that in the back of his skull, then it would become true.

The cashier calmly counted the total and gave him a price, which he paid with ease. He had money, why not splurge? He stepped outside holding a frozen cone in his right hand and the shopping bag in his left.

A glint of silver caught his attention.

"Yoh!" Kakashi waved at him from the other side of the street and Shinku snorted.

"You're late," he acquiesced. "I was expecting you at my door."

The second cone sailed the air as the Jounin grabbed it with a bored look. "Really? Mah, mah…I feel honoured you remember me after so long, my little Genin."

"You should stick to the 'little Anbu' or the 'little soldier';" Shinku retorted. "So, you're here because the Hokage reformed the old team, aren't you?"

Kakashi's only eye smiled, "Indeed," somehow, he managed to lick the cone even with his mask on.

They began to walk along the street. "Shouldn't Jounin go their respective way?"

"Yep," Kakashi replied, "But your teammates aren't Jounin."

Shinku gazed ahead for a moment. His gaze then returned to Kakashi. "Come again?"

"They. Aren't. Jounin."

"But they had the Flak jacket and—"

"The Chuunin Flak jacket, sure. Unfortunately, Sasuke is bound by hospital work and Naruko's mentality isn't mature enough for Jounin. Power wise sure, they'd be top Jounin, but this and that kept them from achieving the rank."

"I swear, if you're preparing some type of backhanded deal…"

"No," Kakashi chuckled with his carefree tone. "It is nothing like that."

They walked in silence for a bit more, neither of the two really having a direction in mind —even delivering the groceries back home wasn't important now.

"I heard about Paddy Fields. Somehow, I didn't expect you to survive that," Kakashi gazed at him.

"What? I'm made of tough stuff."

"I meant the aftermath," Kakashi replied. "Are both of you all right?"

Shinku smiled, "Yes," he gazed at the sky, "We are."

"Good," Kakashi hummed. "So, you snapped at Naruko?"

"She told you?"

"She returned in quite the sorry state," Kakashi pointed out, "No matter how many years she has, she'll always be a child at heart."

"She'll get over it. She's eighteen, isn't she?"

"You're still kids in my eyes," Kakashi said. They apparently headed towards the Yamanaka flower shop.

"You have a girlfriend, or are you going to force me into the office of that prick?"

"Now, that isn't the way to go about," Kakashi casually took out his Icha-Icha. "I have the newest edition of Icha-Icha, and I might be willing to share."

"If I liked porn, I might be willing to accept. Since I don't like porn, but I have the groceries in my hands and can't properly run away…how about you bring the groceries back to my apartment and I graciously head inside?"

Shinku smiled. Kakashi gave him a sour look. "You'd dash the opposite direction."

"Ah, that won't work then?" Shinku inclined his head to the side. "Fine," he shrugged. "I'll have to buy the groceries again."

"You don't want to make this difficult," Kakashi said. "Don't overestimate your abilities."

"Come at me with the intent to kill, Kakashi-sensei," Shinku replied. "Point is, isn't it difficult to defend yourself without killing, when someone else doesn't care about that?"

Kakashi closed his only eye and sighed. "Very well," he shrugged and began to walk down the road, with Shinku following behind him. "You've grown up to be quite the handful."

"I had the best teacher I could possibly ask for," Shinku answered, gazing ahead.

"I taught you too well."

"There's always something new to learn from the old glories of the past, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'm not that old."

"What? Just because your hair is silver doesn't mean you can hide the grey hair."

The silver-haired Jounin gave him a sour look. "I don't have grey hair."

"Sure, sure."

"How about a spar?" the training grounds seemed to be their new direction. "I win, you head over to Inoichi. You win, you get to avoid the visit today."

"Going against the legendary copy-cat ninja Kakashi Hatake? Speak of a fun way to lose."

"You can't have everything in life, and I'm doing this out of concern for the groceries."

"You're just itching for a fight against someone you might be able to defeat in your old age."

"I forgot your intuitive skills," Kakashi grumbled. "And I am not old."

"Sure, want a cane to walk on?"

"Is this how our talks are going to be from now on?"

Shinku didn't reply, but gently placed the grocery bag near the tree of the training ground. He cracked his neck, before turning to face Kakashi. "Want to start up slow?"

"Show me what you've got, kid," Kakashi said cheerfully. "Maybe I'll actually get serious—"

Shinku charged, his right fist coming for the side of Kakashi's head. The Jounin blocked the blow with his left arm, only for Shinku to smile as he pulled the hand back in his sleeve to pour chakra in a seal. Barbed wire coiled out of it, forcing Kakashi to make a light jump backwards.

The wire retracted back with another dose of chakra, and Shinku twirled a kunai in his left hand. "Well, sensei, I know it's not fair to gang up on an elderly person," he chuckled, "But this? I've been waiting for this day for years."

Kakashi hummed. "You make another old man joke and I'll gut you, brat."

Shinku's smile turned feral. "I'd like to see you try!"

A dust cloud lifted behind Shinku as he glided forward. The moment before slamming into Kakashi, he twisted his body and spun in mid-air, throwing a right kick to Kakashi's guard. The silver-haired Jounin huffed as he blocked the blow. "You've polished your Taijutsu at least."

An explosive tag slid out of Shinku's left hand as he finished the rotation, before pushing it against Kakashi's block. The Jounin sidestepped, gripping onto Shinku's wrist. The moment he did that, Shinku's other arm moved to aim at Kakashi. Quickly letting go, Kakashi ducked as a volley of shuriken left Shinku's sleeve.

"That is annoying."

Throwing a kick on the ground, Shinku lifted a cloud of dust in Kakashi's direction. The moment barbed wire emerged from the cloud, surrounding and holding tight Kakashi's body, Shinku sighed.

The body turned into a wooden trunk riddled with explosive tags, which detonated a moment after. Shinku barely managed a substitution of his own as Kakashi slammed a kunai in his neck.

He hadn't substituted with a wooden log however. He had used an oil flask.

"You know, I did manage to get myself a nickname during the war," Inner remarked offhandedly as he watched Kakashi deftly avoid the puddle of oil. "And the requirement for Jounin rank is to master two Chakra techniques of different nature."

The oil turned into a vapour cloud with a hand seal, "Hope you don't mind charred flesh."

Kakashi smiled, having already pinpointed Shinku's location in the clearing. "Now, I was just wondering where I could have a nice barbeque."

Shinku jumped down from his branch just as another Kakashi tried to punch him in the back. The oil cloud exploded, making the Kage Bunshin disappear. "Now that's not nice, hitting someone in the back," Shinku deadpanned, bringing his left arm up to block a fist for his face.

"Uh-uh," Kakashi hummed, "I feel a bit underestimated."

"Well, you're old and cranky. I don't want to make you feel impotent, you know."

"I wonder where your other self is while you fight," Kakashi retorted, sending a kick his way only for Inner to deflect it. Both Jounin palmed a kunai at the same time, slicing at each other as the sparks flew. "I think he's in there, directing your movements."

"One of us was always good in theory. He just lacked the will to execute it," Inner smiled. "Together, we're not as weak as you might think!"

The left hand went through hand seals, the right one sliced away. "Ambidextrous?"

"No…let's just say each of us has a favourite hand."

Shinku's throat enlarged, before a stream of fire erupted from his mouth. Kakashi jumped backwards. "You want to bring techniques into this?"

"If it's too much for an elderly, we can always go and eat some pudding at the hospital. I'm sure they'll change your diapers there."

Kakashi's hand went to his forehead protector. "I told you to stop with the old jokes," the moment the sharingan came into full view, Shinku hummed.

"Why? You're not getting any younger, _oldie_."

Kakashi charged with a Raikiri, Shinku hastily dodged and slammed a kick in the air behind him. The real Kakashi grumbled his Genjutsu dispelling.

"No can do. Once you know the trick, it's easy to avoid it."

_When in doubt, Kai._

"To think you were afraid of sparring," Kakashi muttered, "What gives?"

"Well, I don't actually care if I hurt you or not. I know I should be considerate to my elders, but you really are someone I want to slam in the ground."

"Is that a shared sentiment?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, two of us want you to suffer a bit," Shinku's smile turned feral. "The third one just wants to slaughter you."

In the moment Kakashi's brain connected the dots, Shinku pounced on the split second he had of distraction. His chakra burned a dark purple as a chakra _hand_ shot out from his arm. The silver-haired Jounin blocked the strike of Shinku's normal punches, but the fire chakra hand gripped at the man's wrist…making him pop in a cloud of smoke.

"A Kage Bunshin? Really?" Shinku exhaled with sweat trickling down his forehead. "And after I opened up my heart to you? Sensei, you really are an old acidic crone…"

The humming of the Raikiri reached his ears. "You know, I never understood one thing," Shinku said. "How the hell can you consider the Raikiri an assassination technique, when it makes so much frigging noise?"

"The sharingan is a key part to it," with that, Kakashi slammed his Raikiri straight through Shinku's guts, the Jounin appearing out of thin air in front of him.

"Yeah," Shinku smiled back. "I know that."

The henge dropped, revealing a barrel.

A barrel of gunpowder.

Kakashi growled as he made a split second decision of using the Kamui, to absorb the explosion into the parallel dimension —it was that or losing his hand.

Flexing his fingers, the silver-haired Jounin said with his usual carefree voice. "You want me to lose my fingers?"

"I stocked up just for you. You know, Naruko was right. Storage seals are awesome."

"Don't you feel light hearted and refreshed now?" Kakashi retorted, slowly bringing his forehead protector back down to cover his sharingan. "Think you can handle Inoichi?"

"I think I can murder him," Shinku replied. "And I still haven't landed a punch on your face."

"That's never going to happen," Kakashi deadpanned. "So, you're coming down from that tree any time soon?"

Shinku clicked his tongue. "To think there were people saying I was good at hiding."

"I'm old, give me some credit on the experience," Kakashi brightly said.

"Shouldn't you be taking your afternoon nap then?" Shinku inclined his head to the side, before slowly walking forward with his right hand in the gesture for the 'end of training' symbol.

Kakashi inwardly chuckled at that hand sign, before bringing his right hand to meet with it.

The moment the two met, Shinku sucker-punched Kakashi in the guts with his left hand.

Kakashi wheezed —he had expected the blow, and he had let it come.

"It does feel refreshing," Shinku acquiesced. "Fine," he huffed. "I'll go and see Inoichi, sensei."

"See you tomorrow morning at the Hokage tower, seven sharp," Kakashi replied. "We'll be going on a A-rank."

"A-rank? Wait. You were testing me too, weren't you?" Shinku grumbled.

"I held back," Kakashi nodded sagely. "But so did you."

"I didn't want to go to jail for killing an old man, although in your case it probably might have been legitimate 'self-defence'. You know, I think a few people might have even agreed with me."

Kakashi ruffled Shinku's hair, a smile on his face. "You grew up well, brat."

"I had a good teacher."

"Oh? Should I feel flattered?"

"I'm talking about life, old man."

"Now you're going to make me cry," wiping away a mock tear, Kakashi watched Shinku head over to grab his grocery bag. Together, the two began to walk towards Inoichi's flower shop.

"I'm sure he'll make a call on me being late as some sort of resemblance to a teacher father-figure," Shinku grumbled.

"Uh-uh," Kakashi's face was back behind his porn book.

Shinku bit his lips as he walked in silence for a while. "I cannot guarantee his safety if he comes inside my head."

Kakashi moved his only eye to gaze at Shinku's frowning face for a moment, before returning to the paragraph about Tzunade-chan and Zon-Zon. "He's an expert, he'll be fine."

"Oh, yeah, because having to have your mind rummaged through is always a fun thing."

Kakashi stopped walking outside the flower shop. "See you tomorrow, kid."

"I got it, old man."

The inside of the shop hadn't changed much —except the flowers, which were now different because of the different season. There was a young woman at the counter with a blond and long ponytail, who gazed at him with her striking blue eyes. She had her arms crossed over the counter, her head against them and lazily flipping through a magazine.

She did stop when she saw him enter.

"Hello," she brightly smiled at him, "How may I help you?" she stood up, moving around the counter and towards him.

"I should have an appointment with Inoichi-san," Shinku said, "Half an hour ago."

"Oh," the woman blinked. "You're late."

"Obviously," Shinku retorted. The woman snickered lightly.

"My father isn't really that scary."

"I was busy sparring and lost track of time," he shrugged. "I can always come another day."

"No, I'm sure he still hasn't another patient for a good half an hour," the woman remarked. She climbed the stairs while he waited down in the office. The scent of flowers was nice, and he began to hum as he closed his eyes.

It was very different from the smell of blood.

When the woman walked back down, she smiled awkwardly. "He'll see you now, Haruno-san."

Both hands in his jacket, a smile on his lips that looked similar to a wolf, Inner began to walk the stairs upwards. "See you soon, Yamanaka-san."

Ino shuddered lightly as she watched Shinku walk past her. It had been just a moment, but she could swear there had been _blood_ dripping down his shoulders.

She shook her head a moment later and returned to her magazine.

It was unfortunate, but the only guys that stepped into the shop were either already with a girlfriend or nutcases. She really had no luck when it came to love.

Inner waved at Inoichi, closing the door behind him as he exhaled. "So, per protocol I have to let you in my head now, uh? You were waiting for this moment patiently, right?"

Inoichi's smile was tight. "It's just to check you're not a plant or a spy, Haruno-san."

"Man, I'm never going to get used to the 'san'," Shinku sighed. "Just call me Shinku."

"Is your other-self listening in?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"And why isn't he out? Is he still afraid of me?"

"No, but he just wants to make sure I won't try any funny business while you're in our head."

Inner sighed. "And he's a better speaker than me. I have the tendency to tick off people."

"I appreciate the concern," Inoichi replied. "There haven't been any changes in your…status?"

"Course not," Shinku smiled. "We're both fine with our arrangements. Outer gives me the advice and I deliver a striking execution."

"Very well," Inner sat as Inoichi did the same. Bringing his hands up in the seal for the Yamanaka's trademark technique, Inoichi exhaled.

He executed the technique.

Inner's eyes closed.

His smile grew.

Calmly he stood and traced his hand across Inoichi's desk, slowly but surely reaching for a kunai. He stopped halfway through, returning to his seat. Now, if only he could do this also with Genjutsu…he'd have to train more on it.

The blood soaked desert was the first thing Inoichi saw. Tall pillars of stone etched with Kanji rose through the sand, like ruins of crumbled towers. Outer stood with his arms crossed and a nervous expression on his face. The moon was dark and red, dribbling down blood.

"Hello, Yamanaka-san."

"I admit, this is the first time I see a mind ordered in such a way," Inoichi gazed around, "Usually, they're just random thoughts and images…" his steps pressed on the sand. "This actually seems pretty real."

"What can I say," Outer smiled. "We had a lot of time to put it up."

Inoichi frowned. "I need to see your memories, but I can't seem to find them."

"Ah, yes. I remember that time your daughter tried that stunt," Outer replied. "She made Inner so angry her sensei had to intervene," Shinku sighed. "This way," his hands in his jacket, Outer began to walk towards a pillar with the Kanji for 'War'.

He placed his feet on its surface, slowly walking upwards.

Inoichi followed. "I told her not to use such a technique during the tournament. I want you to understand that I take entering other peoples' memories seriously. I find no enjoyment in going through the private life of other shinobi."

"I'm not bothered. There's nothing pretty in this side of my mind, but it's all yours to see."

The moment they reached the top of the pillar, a set of images and confused thoughts began to appear all around them.

"_We have a rookie! Say hello to Birdie-chan!"_

"_That's Cat, and let me tell you she's a whore before she does herself."_

"_Now, now, stop stuttering. There's nothing bad with speaking your mind up kid."_

"_You lucky brat, receiving letters from home uh? My lady refused to even look at me when I left, she's always like that…"_

"_So, you're not a fresh off the academy? Then again, you are young for Anbu…well, if you're already wetted then come on along."_

"_What were you saying about not being good enough? You're a natural! Man, I wish I killed that neatly the first time I did the deed."_

"_Ohi, you're still a virgin? Holding it in for your sweetheart huh?" the voice had changed to a female one. "How cute. Watching you squirm is so fun!"_

"_Nah, relationships are complicated. I just love teasing and taking care of my bothers. Want to have a try too, kid? Pop the cherry?"_

"_So, it's been a year already," another female voice, "And I thought, why not give the Anbu kid a gift? Here you go, brat."_

An image flashed by, showing a bundle of barbed wire.

"_What, you expected something better? Really, kids these days…"_

"_No, it's fine," this was Shinku's voice replying. "Really…it's fine."_

"_Ohi! Don't get the waterworks flowing!"_

More chatter, images, they all flowed by as the years of war were examined by Inoichi carefully.

"_So Crane's the fastest of us all," the voice was tense now. "You go and warn camp."_

"_But Bird's the youngest!"_

"_It doesn't matter," Shinku replied sternly. "I'm a soldier of Konoha. You go and warn camp. We'll hold them off and regroup later."_

"_Fine," Crane replied. "Let's get smashed at the end of this."_

"_Yeah, yeah," Bear said. "First round's on me."_

"_I'll pay the second," Shinku's voice came through._

"_Let me have the third one," Cat stated. _

"_Then…I'll buy the fourth," Crane whispered. It was the last time he saw her alive._

_Images of explosions flashed by, the rice fields overturned and muddied. Corpses floated in the shallow waters, feasted upon by fleas and mosquitoes. "Ah! And they think they can pass us by!? What pathetic—"_

_Cat's voice died out together with the blood that splattered all over her face. Her right hand blown off neatly, the next attack sliced her in two._

_The images flickered for a moment. _

Inoichi frowned. He tried to stop the flow, but it seemed to refuse him.

"Can we skip the battle, please?" Outer whispered, his voice hoarse. "There's…no need to see more, right?"

Inoichi exhaled. "I am short on time," he smiled lightly. "I'll need to view the rest of your memories…are you free next week, Monday at eight in the morning?"

"Thanks," Outer murmured, giving a nod.

Inoichi stepped out of Shinku's mind first, and the moment he did Outer snapped his fingers. The pillars shattered, returning to sand as hidden by one of them a body chained and shackled stood growling.

"Ah…" Outer exhaled, "What a pathetic liar I am…"

The thing growled.

"Then again…" he chuckled lightly, "You can't come out," he sat down next to the growling and trashing creature. "Not yet…not yet," he whispered. "Only…only when we're stronger. Only then…only then."

In the silence of the blood soaked desert, only the light growls of the creature remained.

Outer emerged the moment he stepped back down in the shop. His gaze went to Ino, who tried her best to ignore him.

"Excuse me," he said, making Ino jolt lightly. "I'd like to buy some flowers."

"Sure," Ino stumbled out of her chair. "Any particular reason?"

"Uhm…forgiveness?"

"White roses," Ino replied without a fault. She moved towards a particular rose bush, "How many would you like?"

"Two," Outer replied quietly.

Ino snapped them with a pair of gardener's scissors with precise and fluid motions, before moving to the counter. "That will be five ryos."

"Can you wrap them separately?"

Ino smiled back, "Sure."

Shinku paid, before grabbing only one of the two wrapped roses and handing the other over to Ino. "Here."

Ino's eyes widened in surprise, "I…I?"

"As a sorry for being scary," Shinku replied as Ino grabbed the rose. "I'll be back next week, so I don't want to keep on walking on eggshells."

"Ah…" a light blush spread over Ino's cheeks. "All…right?"

With a wave, Shinku was out. Ino sighed. She sat down once more behind the counter, grumbling.

She really had no luck in love at all. Why did a sweet one have to be a nutcase?

Shaking her head, she smelled the rose and exhaled. She began to hum happily afterwards, flipping through the magazine's pages.

It was going to be a nice day —she was sure of it.

**Author's notes**

**Naruko's the usual bullhead. Sasuke's as always caught between fires. Shinku's become smooth.**

**No worries gents. This isn't a premise for a pairing (I don't deal with pairings to begin with, regular readers know my way of writing)**

**To correct a mistake I've done: I thought Hanabi was the same age as Konohamaru and gang —hence, I gave her fifteen years the chapter before (five years of timeskip rather than three means Konohamaru and Gang would be fifteen) ('Three Years his junior') I'll roll with it now, sorry if it irks someone.**

**Another thing is that no, Shinku isn't the Rookie of the team any longer. He was the Rookie for the first **_**two years**_** of Anbu, and then he became a 'full-fledged' Anbu. Hanabi is the 'Rookie'.**

**Now, a comparison between Shippuuden Sakura and Shippuuden Shinku.**

**Sakura has advanced medical skill, chakra storing seal, superhuman strength and…nothing else. **

**Shinku has two minds in one body (as Pre-Shippuuden Sakura had) and his entire concept is based around using Ninja tools to do Ninja work. He isn't a one-trick pony, but a well-rounded shinobi…if a bit lacking on Genjutsu. His affinity is Fire. The requirement for Jounin is a secondary Chakra affinity and his is water (If Sasuke, **_**in a month**_**, can learn to use Lightning chakra when his nature is Fire, I do not think it strange that in five Years Shinku can learn another chakra nature.)**

**Of course, both Naruko and Sasuke who literally can still mop the floor with him hopelessly outmatch him…then again, we're speaking of frontline fighters that Kishimoto particularly loves… (Really, last few chapters of Kishi's work all Sakura does is say 'GO ON!' and…nothing else. A panel. Sheesh.)**

**Your choice on who wins between Shippuuden Sakura and Shinku. See ya next chapter.**


	54. Intuitive Realizations

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Four

Naruko gazed at the gym. She held a sort of half-empty look that seemed to go beyond what she was actually seeing. She took a deep breath, and then she began to walk out of there. She wasn't insensitive. Maybe she was a bit tactless, but she wasn't insensitive. It was just…problems were solved when you spoke about them. Bottling them up was no good. If you had a problem, you needed to vent it out in order to get rid of it.

She took to Konoha's streets with a half-grimace. The people always looked at her and smiled, or cheerfully waved a hand at her if they were young kids who grew up with the stories of how much of a hero she was. The problem was, being a hero wasn't easy.

The hero is always strong. The hero never shows weakness. The hero is always the one who shines through the darkest of days and stands back up, flaming sword in hand, and defeats the big bad evil with a single strike. Yet she couldn't help but feel useless. She had spent five years, five maddening years, going no further than a single day's walk from Konoha.

She hadn't done anything awesome. Sure, she had mastered the rasengan. Sure, she had mean ass techniques and could do thousands of things at the same time. Sure, she was happy that the war never touched the village, but at the same time, she felt empty. She should have been on the frontlines, not in Konoha.

Her father had gone, leaving behind Nara Shikaku to oversee things in the village. She hadn't.

She 'wasn't mature enough'. What sort of stupid excuse was that to begin with? She wasn't mature enough? Yet her father had let Shinku go. Why him and not her? Why him and not Sasuke?

The answer had actually been easy to find. She was important.

Sasuke was important.

Shinku…just wasn't important enough.

It didn't matter that there was virtually no way she could get hurt. It didn't matter that she and Sasuke could probably take on her father and win. In his eyes, she was probably still the immature child that screamed about wanting to be Hokage and that ate twenty cups of ramen in a single serving.

It was harder and harder to keep up the friendly face when old people waved at her. It was difficult to just walk alongside the street rather than shunshin wherever she wanted to go, but the people needed to see her happy. They needed to see her strong. She was a 'pillar' for the village. She was their hero, their saviour, their perfect most awesome kunoichi.

Naruko would have liked to frown, at least once.

She would have liked to be angry. She would have liked to go out with a group of people, talk and laugh about nothing.

Her friends were Sasuke and Shinku. She had no others. She was the centre of everyone's attention, and yet at the same time they all kept her at an arm's length. Ichiraku's ramen was good, she spoke with Ayame and Teuchi-Jiji, but the nagging doubt that it was simply a customer-worker relation never left her mind.

In the end, she was probably the most insecure person in all of Konoha.

Still, she hadn't been wrong. She refused to believe she had been wrong. Her long strides took her to solve the problem. She slammed her hand repeatedly against the wooden door.

"Ohi, Shinku!" she could be an adult. She was an adult.

"Open up the damn door!"

She wasn't wrong, even as the door opened and Shinku gazed at her with his crimson eyes. She recognized those, and they weren't Shin-chan's.

She crossed her arms over her chest, "The world doesn't revolve around you," she snapped, before planting a finger straight against his chest as she pushed her way inside while he backpedalled. "All right! You lost your Anbu team and felt like shit. I was too forceful and you snapped, all right. I get it. I do…but I want to talk with Shinku, just…I'll apologize to him."

The other Shinku snorted, rolling his eyes. A few seconds later, and they softened up as his body sort of…stopped being tense.

"I'm not a child," Naruko began softly. "I was…I haven't seen you in five years. Five years are like, a lot of time. You looked sad but…I didn't know it was something so bad. I just, well," she rubbed her right hand against her left arm. "I thought it was something easy to fix. I really didn't…I didn't mean to pry something like that in that way. So…what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry I forced you to tell me the story, but I wasn't wrong...because I'm your friend, right? And friends aren't happy when their friends are sad."

"No," Shinku muttered, shaking his head. "I'm the one who has to apologize. Inner shouldn't have been that harsh."

There was a moment of silence. Naruko fidgeted with a strand of hair.

"We're still friends, right?" she asked in the end.

"If you'll still have me."

Naruko smiled. "So, did you totally write a letter to Fu or not?"

Shinku nodded, producing one such letter. Within, he had placed a pressed white rose.

"Good, good," Naruko smiled. "So…" she exhaled, "I…I can't promise I won't try to find out what's wrong with you, Shin-chan. I know it might seem I'm doing this because I'm curious and tactless but…but I just worry. Sasuke always says I'm a worrywart," she snickered, "But well…if you have a problem, you can talk with us. I'll totally listen."

Shinku nodded. "It will…take some time to get used to it," he muttered.

"It's been five years," Naruko smiled brightly, "Well, three considering we wrote to each other. Right, then how about this?" she brought her pinkie finger forward. "I did this with Uke-chan too by the way, a long, long time ago."

She wiggled her pinkie finger until Shinku brought up his.

"I pinkie swear I'll always be Shinku's friend, through thick and thin, and though we may quarrel we'll always have each other's back."

Her voice came out soft as she finished the pinkie swear. "I…swear," she mumbled at the end.

"I swear too," Shinku replied, a small smile on his lips.

"Sheesh, this is embarrassing," Naruko said as she dropped the pinkie swear form. "Really," she huffed, bringing her chin upwards. "Such a refined and mature woman having to do such embarrassing poses…"

Shinku chuckled. "I'm sorry about…"

"It's all right," Naruko shrugged. "I know I'm pretty childish, Shin-chan," she hummed, "but really…you made Jounin before us…I wonder what's the 'maturity' thing about."

"You want to know?" Shinku said warily. "I mean…they did tell me."

Naruko's hands gripped his flak jacket the next instant. "What!? What is it? Do you have to, like, know a thousand different mathematical formulas? Is it like having to always speak politely?"

"It's the ability to consciously know when you must sacrifice yourself for the good of the mission," Shinku replied quietly.

Naruko's hands let go of Shinku's jacket as if burned. "What?"

"The Jounin is a highly skilled shinobi operative, assigned to only the most difficult of missions. Before placing himself, he must place the village. Before placing his life, he must place the citizens' lives. Before placing his friends, his loved ones, and everything else, he must place the well-being of the _entire_ village. That is what being a Jounin is about…to be able to commit the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the village."

"You mean…"

"I don't know what I did in that battle, but I was ready to die for the mission," he acquiesced. "That is the maturity required. To know that at any moment, you will not falter in front of death."

Naruko's eyes quivered. Then, she proceeded to slap Shinku hard on the side of the face.

"You aren't allowed to die on my watch!" she yelled, gripping his jacket with her right hand. "You hear me Shin-chan!? I don't care about this maturity stuff or whatever! If that's what it takes to become a Jounin then I can go without the jacket! I can totally become the Hokage while being a Chuunin and then I can make things different!"

Shinku winced at the pain from the side of his jaw.

"Nobody should die protecting those he loves," Naruko mumbled, "So," she said harder, "I want you to promise me! Promise me you won't die, no matter what! Promise me you won't do a stupid bullshitting thing like sacrificing yourself! Promise it to me, Shin-chan! Promise it now!"

"I can't make promises…I can't keep," he exhaled. "If it will be required…"

"Then I'll become Hokage," Naruko growled, "I'll become Hokage faster than my dad, and I'll take over and I'll never, ever, give you a mission where you have to die. I might not be good with the paperwork, so you should count yourself hired as the secretary of the Hokage."

"What makes you think I can do paperwork?" Shinku retorted.

"Please," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Anyone can do paperwork. I just don't want to do it because of principles."

"How are you going to become Hokage, if you don't actually love the village?" Shinku blurted out, his eyes widening.

Naruko stopped breathing.

She actually stopped breathing for a single moment.

"H-How?" she croaked out. "I…I…"

"You don't trust anyone but your friends," Shinku continued. "You love your family, but…what of the rest of the people in the village?"

"But I… I…I don't hate…"

"No, you don't," Shinku said, "But you don't love the village. You barely tolerate the villagers. Maybe…that's why the Hokage hasn't made you a Jounin yet. Until you're able to…"

"But why not promote Sasuke then?" Naruko snapped then, "All right, I get it, my dad probably knows I don't really love the village all that much but…why not Sasuke?"

"He's going to die, isn't it? As a Jounin, he'd be more valuable on the fields and outside the village. He wouldn't be able to do what he likes, and being a medic-nin is what he does like, right?"

Naruko's shoulders trembled. "Ha…how can you just…just say that and make me believe it's right? It's…"

"It's something your father would do, because Sasuke's your friend and you love him very much, and he's friends with his parents and there's a lot more reasons why he wouldn't let Sasuke leave the hospital's staff."

"Sasuke's…he's not going to die. We'll find a way to heal him, I mean, Orochimaru's dead so we can find his research, stuff like that and…"

"I saw the worse of it," Shinku acquiesced. "Sasuke's lucky he's in Konoha. I saw men, women, children…their corpses horribly mutated and suffering like hell…killing them was a _mercy_," he shook his head. "Enough of this heavy talk. I'm just suggesting reasons, they don't have to be the real ones."

"No, no, I know my father," Naruko shook her head. "That's something he would do."

She looked at him, "But then, why did he send you into Anbu?"

"I wasn't strong enough," Shinku shrugged. "Do or break, probably. I mean, let's face it…I'm stronger than five years ago, but I'm never going to be able to do things as you or Sasuke do. No matter how many tricks I can come up with, if I had to face either you or Sasuke I'd lose. I know that, I accepted that a long time ago…but the point is, he probably thought that I'd be safer out of Konoha than with you in Konoha. How many knew I was your teammate before the tournament? Nearly no one. We spent a lot of time outside of the village, our very training was done in the forest of death…"

His voice turned soft as he considered his next words. "He sent us on long missions which were supposedly safe and easy to do, but at the same time far away. If I had to hazard a guess…it was because he didn't want it to be a known fact I was part of your team until it was the tournament time, and even _then_ he kept us separated after that."

"You're talking as if my dad hates you Shin-chan," Naruko replied. "I don't think he does."

"No, but if we apply the same reasoning he opted for keeping you and Sasuke chuunin…which is doing your best interests, then he was probably trying to _protect_ me."

"From what?" Naruko inclined her head to the side. "It's not like there would be any reason to target you."

"Oh help me, Naruko, I've been kidnapped by Orochimaru," Shinku deadpanned back. Naruko winced, before raising her hands up in defeat.

"All right, so it was the snake-bastard?"

"If it was, he'd have tried to keep us inside Konoha, and not let us go outside…"

Shinku's eyes closed. "Which means…the enemy is within the walls."

Danzo Shimura trudged alongside Sai in the depths of Root's training facility. His hands came both up to hold tightly onto his cane, as he gave a venomous glare to the operative.

"I told you to _kill_ him before he returned! What part of it was difficult to understand!?"

Sai lowered his head in shame. "Danzo-sama, he was with Jiraiya of the sannin. I had no chances."

"That was supposed to be your way inside the team, I would have proposed your name…" Danzo grumbled. "Very well," he gazed at his old and wrinkled hands. "I suspected the Yondaime was on to us from the beginning. You are to avoid any more contact with the target. I will find another way to place you within the team. Do not delude my expectations. The Uchiha's 'Mangekyou' eyes must be mine."

Danzo began to walk again, "I am the only one fit to use its power for the good of Konoha. Healing people in the hospital…how _pathetic_ can a shinobi become? He's nothing like Itachi."

"Danzo-sama…concerning the letters…"

"They've run out of usefulness. Burn them and erase all traces that can lead back to Root."

Sai nodded firmly and flickered away. He had orders to carry out. He would carry them out.

Minato Namikaze flexed his fingers thoughtfully, as his gaze went to Sasuke who stood in wait on one side of his office. Near him, Hanabi Hyuga held a stern and controlled face, her back uptight and her shoulders squared.

"They're late," Minato mumbled. "If Kakashi's tardiness is infectious…"

"You called, sensei?" Kakashi entered from the window with an eye-smile.

"They're later than Kakashi," Minato muttered in disbelief. Kakashi giggled as he flicked through a page of Icha-Icha.

"GAAAAAHHHhh…" Shinku's scream was easy to hear as Naruko barrelled in from the window with enough speed to shatter the glass.

Shinku rolled in mid-air, deadening the blow as he rolled on the ground and landed with his back against the opposite wall.

"Gah!" he coughed out, taking a deep breath as he stood up wheezing. "Were you trying to kill me!?"

"Ohi! We were late!" Naruko exclaimed, "And this was the fastest way!"

Naruko took that moment to gaze around the room. "What's the Chibi doing here?"

"Ahem," the Yondaime coughed. "You were supposed to receive an A-rank mission, but this has changed since the last hour. The mission you will undergo is an _S_-rank mission of extreme importance and that must be carried out with scrupulous behaviour."

"Oh? What's it going to be?" Naruko asked, her ears twitching. "We're setting foot out of the village? Finally? After all these years? Yes!" Naruko fist-pumped in the air.

"You will head to Sunagakure," Minato acquiesced. "We have received unsettling news that the Kazekage's son, Gaara, has been kidnapped. Whoever did this is probably a high ranked shinobi or group of such," the Yondaime's cerulean eyes shone. "They even might be the Akatsuki, which is why, Naruko…I ask of you to be extremely serious. If that is the case, you are to immediately summon a toad and I and Jiraiya will come over as fast as possible."

"Thanks for the trust dad," Naruko snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's like I'm not even eighteen years old."

"This is a serious matter," Minato said sternly. "Your team will be the same as always since Kakashi is an excellent tracker, and you will be joined by Hanabi Hyuga, whose Byakugan will be a great help in locating threats from afar…which should give you plenty of time to do a summoning."

Naruko grumbled under her breath, before nodding.

Minato turned to gaze at Sasuke. "I had to hear an earful from Tsunade already, so do me a favour and come back alive."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course, Hokage-sama. She gave me an earful too."

"You're all dismissed," Minato said. "Prepare and depart as quickly as possible."

With a nod, they were all out of the office. Minato sighed…he'd have to replace the glass of the windows once more.

"What should I bring?" Hanabi asked, her voice reaching Shinku's ears and making the boy turn towards the Hyuga who was following him.

"Sunagakure is a desert. As much water as you can carry, easy to move in clothes and something to cover your eyes and face from the sand. Goggles would be better."

Hanabi nodded, and then flickered in the direction of her house.

He hadn't even unpacked his stuff from the scrolls he carried, so if worse came to worse he could fling a frying pan in the head of an S-rank shinobi. He wondered how funny that would be. An S-rank shinobi defeated by a frying pan…his lips twitched upwards in a small smile.

"You've made peace with Shinku?" Sasuke asked Naruko, the two jumping from rooftop to rooftop side by side.

"Yep," Naruko nodded. "You don't have to push yourself Uke-chan. You can leave the heavy lifting to me."

"Come off it, Dobe," Sasuke snorted back. "I'm not infirm yet."

They jumped another rooftop in quiet contemplation.

"You know, I wonder what's wrong with me sometimes…" Naruko mumbled. "Everyone can make friends so easily, and yet…I can't do that."

"You're just overly paranoid," Sasuke replied. "Still, why don't you try with 'Chibi'? If she's been on Shinku's team for a month, he'd probably say something if she were not to be trusted."

Naruko brightened up. "That's it! I just need you to tell me who's trustworthy and who isn't!"

Sasuke nearly missed the next roof. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! You can totally detect who's lying and who isn't, so if I have you tell me who I can trust and who I can't, I can make more friends and then dad will see I'm not an anti-social brat and he'll hand over the hat!"

"How did making friends suddenly turn into becoming Hokage?" Sasuke asked, his voice wary —it completely seemed a 'Naruko' approved plan…which never ended well, unless they were 'pranking' plans.

"Duh," Naruko rolled her eyes. "It's because I'm awesome like that."

Sasuke didn't say another word.

He'd ask Shinku later…because it was true, he could see if people lied or not pretty well —sharingan activated or not— and in that instant, the moment Naruko had avoided telling the truth…he knew she was hiding something.

A light bitterness crept into the back of his throat, as if bile had risen from his stomach. He pressed it down. It wasn't like that. There wasn't a particular reason he had been kept out of the 'loop' of Naruko's thinking. The girl did that a lot when planning pranks.

There really was nothing wrong.

**Author's notes**

**I received quite the number of reviews on how it seemed to have turned into a 'Shinku-is-awesome' story type…which isn't really the thing I portrayed or tried to. Shinku went to war. Shinku did things. 'Awesome' things if you want to call them that.**

**Naruko and Sasuke could do 'Awesome' things since they were **_**thirteen**_**. Or are we ignoring the Susanoo, the inhuman strength, kage bunshin, and so on they did when they were **_**thirteen**_**? Read the summary again. Shinku can't cast a shadow over Naruko and Sasuke. They're both stronger. They aren't Jounin, all right, but 'Jounin' is a title. It's not an indication of power.**

**Nobody sane of their mind would give 'NaruTo' the Jounin or Chuunin rank. Him leading a team? Come on, he'd have them dead at the first booby trapped door. And NaruKo is portrayed with the same emotional 'outgoing' of NaruTo. What she bubbles inside **_**is**_** different, and that's her twist.**

**Sasuke not doing awesome things…I wonder, is doing what **_**he likes**_** so bad? Sure, sure, we could have him slaughter countless enemies on a battlefield, sure, sure, we could have him go Susanoo, Amaterasu, and so on…but that would defeat the entire **_**characterization**_** of his character in this story. You see, **_**Sasuke is happy**_**. Yes, it's like tearing apart reality but he's happy doing what he loves doing. Helping people…and that's **_**his**_** twist.**

**He isn't tearing up people with his eyes powers. Damn, guess that makes him uncool. **

**Sure, I've given the spotlight to Shinku for a few chapters…because he is the one who changed the **_**most**_**. Sasuke learned stuff and became **_**happy**_**. Naruko learned stuff and began to dislike being 'chained'.**

**And you know what? It's fine like this. I'm **_**avenging**_** the utter **_**non-change**_** of Sakura in canon. Which is the **_**purpose**_** of the fic, if you've forgotten.**

**Just…wanted to point this out. In the end, I'm not the one leading the story. The **_**characters**_** are. My muse if fickle and she's a bitch, so it's like I'm actually walking in a tightly fogged area with a small torch. I can see my few next steps, but I can't see the destination. If it ends in glory, death, blood…I can't see that. Which is thrilling…and the reason I write.**

**I'm the very first reader of the stories I write, because I have **_**no idea**_** what the next words in ink will be, and when they're written, I gaze at them and smile…because I'm reading a story I find entertaining.**

**And I decide to share it. Because Tobi is a good boy.**


	55. Glazing The Wheels of Teamwork

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Five

The leafy forests of land of Fire left the place to the heated sands of the land of Wind gradually. First, trees began to grow shorter and dried out, the dirt turned to rocky gravel and the air became less humid. Then the sand appeared and with it the clear blue sky, from which a dazzling bright sun shone down its rays.

"Use the same concept applied when raining to keep your body temperature constant," Shinku said, turning his head towards Hanabi who was running slightly behind him. The Hyuga nodded firmly, hanging from each of his words.

It was the common practice in Anbu for rookies, and although they weren't in Anbu any longer the fact remained. Mostly, experienced shinobi taught the inexperienced ones. It wasn't just a matter of teaching techniques, but simple tricks and things like how to maintain a constant body heat, how to make less noise when walking and so on.

The concept of the 'Rookie' and the 'Caretaker' was plainly that of a teacher-student relationship. Kakashi watched the scene with amusement from his spot. There was a small rift in the team —with him taking point, on one side he had Shinku and Hanabi, and on the other Naruko and Sasuke.

It was obvious that Hanabi would stick closer to Shinku, and probably it had been instinctive for Naruko to stay 'clear' of the new member.

Still, the silver-haired Jounin supposed that after camping for the night things would either mend or get worse. If they worsened, he'd take action.

"Don't try to use chakra to stick to the sand," Shinku's voice came again to Kakashi's ears. "When the terrain is uneven, it's best to walk lightly in small jumps and use a tiny trickle to glide the rest of the way."

"Hai," Hanabi replied awkwardly.

Throwing a shinobi into war and into Anbu wasn't something easy on the mind, and assigning to them someone specific to latch on was the perfect solution to the problem. Kakashi hummed thoughtfully —he wondered if perhaps Shinku could have been a good Chuunin-sensei, if only he had been in another team— and then shook his head lightly.

He was part of his team, and thus he could be nothing less than what he expected him to become —someone like him.

"Don't drink too much in one go, small sips over the course of small intervals is better."

"Ohi," Naruko suddenly said. "Can't you stop mothering her? She's old enough to know what to do, right?"

"No."

The reply hadn't come from Shinku. It had come from Hanabi.

"I am not knowledgeable with many of the tricks of the trade Shinku-san knows. I am grateful he takes the time to teach me what he knows," the reply was overly polite and with a subdued tone, which made Naruko gaze perplexedly at the Hyuga.

"Wait, you mean you're a _fan girl_? Shin-chan has a fan girl?" Naruko shook her head in disbelief. "You won't steal his underwear, right?"

Hanabi spluttered out in embarrassment. "I would never!"

"Yeah, yeah…I'm sure you can use your Byakugan to look under the clothes of people…"

"That is an improper and shameful use of the Doujutsu of the Hyuga clan. No proper Hyuga would ever use it…"

"Conserve your breath," Shinku said abruptly. "Knowing sensei he'll make us camp directly in Suna, which means traversing the desert with the sun at its peak."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'm not that bad."

"No, but you are old and senile and, unless you die of a stroke, you _will_ make us trek through the entire desert."

"You know, the 'old' jokes were funny only once: never."

"Are you sure you aren't simply forgetting because of Alzheimer?"

Kakashi grumbled under his breath. "I'm fine. I still remember that scared little Genin trembling like a leaf of five years ago...pity he turned out to be a smartass."

Shinku didn't reply, exhaling lightly.

"So, Chibi," Naruko said after a few minutes of travel. "Tell me: what did you and Shin-chan do while in Anbu?"

"That is classified information, Namikaze-san," Hanabi said.

"Uhm…did you do some dirty things in the bushes?" Naruko's perverted leer was an all too familiar sight for Shinku's eyes, but Hanabi turned a bright scarlet.

"N-No! It's improper of all things! Th-That sort of thing…"

"Leave her alone, Naruko. Not everyone thinks only of ramen and perversions like you," Sasuke said, his voice coming out for the first time since the start of the trip.

"But Uke-chan, I have to make sure Shin-chan and Fu-chan become a couple, and then when they'll have a child I'll be the godmother and you can be the godfather, and afterwards I'll teach Shin-chan's kid how to be awesome and—"

"Don't worry," Shinku muttered to Hanabi, who was still red faced. "She's like that."

"She seems completely different from what people say," Hanabi said after a short while.

Shinku remained quiet. Naruko's ranting in the air died out once more.

The silence lasted for a good five minutes.

"How big is this desert anyway?"

"Quite big," Kakashi answered.

"How long will it take?"

"Quite a lot," Kakashi replied, a light carefree tone in his voice.

A few minutes passed by, before Naruko asked a dreaded question.

"Are we there yet?"

Two hours later and Kakashi decided to set camp to let the hottest hours of the day pass by. Finding a small rocky spot with a little bit of shade was difficult, but not impossible. Sure, they were meant to reach Suna as fast as possible, but that didn't mean they had to risk their neck travelling the desert at its hottest. There _was_ a reason Suna used the desert as a natural defence against invaders.

Shinku sat with his back against the rocky outcrop, planting a hook on the wall and another on the ground before using a piece of cloth to form a shadowy area. A few seconds later, and Hanabi dropped next to him, her head down on his shoulder as she decided to catch some sleep.

Naruko stared at the scene with wide, shocked eyes. Sasuke actually spluttered in surprise.

Kakashi just hummed, flicking through a page of Icha-Icha.

Anbu always slept in couples. One slept while the other remained awake. Being in teams of four, it meant that two Anbu were always awake during the night. It was that sort of camaraderie, of 'family' feeling.

It was what he had wanted his students to learn.

Shinku quietly looked with an awry smile towards the rest of his team, and then inwardly sighed.

"_This here is Dragon. Say hello Dragon."_

"_Hello."_

"_This here is Bird, Bird is going to be your caretaker and handler, until you get the gist of Anbu work."_

"_So I get to teach the Rookie, Baku? Wonderful. Listen kid, I'll make things clear. If you want to succeed in Anbu there's a single rule to follow. Don't die. There, I'm done."_

The girl snored peacefully. He rolled his eyes, before taking a sip of water out of his canteen.

"Ohi," Naruko hissed from her spot. "Shin-chan!"

Shinku inclined his head to the side, gazing at Naruko who was flailing her right fist in the air. "What's with the lovey-dovey atmosphere? You have Fu-chan!"

"Do not let your pure love be tarnished by having an affair," Sasuke mouthed towards him. "I'm warning you!"

He sighed, waving a hand in dismissal. It wasn't like that.

Shinku calmly wetted his hair, before giving a gaze at Kakashi who returned a silent nod. He closed his eyes too, letting Kakashi have the first watch.

He heard a soft rustling near him a few minutes later, which soon became clearer as what felt like two bodies sat down closer to him. He opened his eyes again and raised an eyebrow. Both Naruko and Sasuke were now sitting just a few inches away from him.

"So," Sasuke whispered. "How have you been?"

Shinku's lips twitched slightly upwards. Kakashi hummed from his spot, gazing with his only eye back to his team for a brief moment. They were making small talk, whispered conversations and silent gestures. He smiled behind his mask, and then returned to his book.

Everything was going to be fine.

He had trained them well.

Hanabi yawned as she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She cracked her neck lightly and opened her eyes. Bird was gazing at her with a small twitching smile, probably amused by something. She felt happy. She was the second daughter, and although she hadn't been branded the Caged Bird seal —there was no need, because being a female there was no way she'd 'split' the clan— the suffocating feeling of the Hyuga clan's walls was already starting to grow bitter to her taste.

Her father trained her to be the very best. She trained until she spat out blood and fell exhausted on the ground, and when she had grown stronger than her sister she hadn't stopped there. Then, one day, father had simply stopped praising her. It had taken her a while to realize it.

It was no longer about her being 'stronger', but about doing what she her father _expected_ her to do. If they told her one hundred strikes, and she did two hundred, her father didn't praise her…because he _expected_ her to do three hundred.

She didn't choose to enter Anbu, her father expected her to enter.

Leaving behind the walls, leaving behind the stern gazes of the instructor and the clansmen, she had been scared. It hadn't lasted. She met new people —strange people, different people, quirky people. There was a world out of the walls of the clan compound.

She had grown up with the idea that teachers weren't meant to be kind or helpful, but simply there to say a dry 'Good' when the exercise was done.

"Come on, sleepyhead," Shinku said plainly, offering her a water bottle. "Wet your hair before we depart. The sun's going down but it doesn't mean it stopped hitting hard."

"Hai," she replied. The water felt cool. She used as little as possible, before returning it. Shinku crossed his arms in wait. Hanabi bit her lip for a moment, before applying more water.

With a nod, Shinku grabbed the now half-empty bottle and stored it away.

They began to travel once more.

"Hey, Chibi," Naruko said, suddenly flanking her. "You know Shin-chan got a girlfriend, right?"

"Yes," Hanabi replied without missing a beat.

Naruko nearly lost her next step on the sand. "T-Then why the hell are you acting like a love struck fan girl!?"

"I'm not!" she exclaimed back, "I would never! Shinku-san is…he's…"

She looked sideways. "He's a friend."

"Well," Naruko blinked. "Then that makes me your friend too then," the girl nodded sagely as she said that. "And Uke-chan too I suppose."

Hanabi's eyes stared at Naruko in surprise.

"But I want to warn you, Chibi," Naruko said quietly, her voice cold. "If there's one thing I hate, it's liars. You better not be one."

With that, she sped ahead.

"Kakashi-Nii! Are we there yet!?"

Hanabi watched the back of the hero of Konoha as she sped up, before biting her tongue and clenching her fists. She _had_ lied.

Shinku wasn't her friend. She couldn't consider herself a friend to him after barely one month…but she hadn't been able to say the truth, because it was embarrassing.

Bird was _her_ hero. It was embarrassing to think about it. She knew it was hero worship, but…the man had her back during the war, taught her and knew many things that she didn't…

She absolutely didn't have a crush on him however. She knew he was 'taken' and that was it.

Frankly, she had heard about this 'Fu-san' person more than one night in a row. She knew she had no chances —not that she wanted one!

Therefore, she simply sped up to remain behind Bird's back. She found it somewhat poetic too. Birds had the wings to fly and be free, and on his back, she had found her freedom.

She turned scarlet. Maybe she really shouldn't think certain things. How cheesy was that line? Really! Thankfully, she never wrote anything down.

Sunagakure came into view as the sun died out over the horizon, the village hidden within a giant hole in the desert and surrounded by rock walls. Yet there were signs of wear and tear, as a few buildings appeared ravaged and destroyed.

The shinobi at the gates let them through after a small exchange of passphrases, and they ended up meeting with the Kazekage…in the hospital.

The man was raggedly breathing, his body literally rotting piece by piece.

The medic-nin scrambled around like headless chickens, until Sasuke stepped through.

"I'm a medic, if you all would please kindly _**shut the hell up!**_"

His hands glowed with green chakra, as he began to examine the rot that spread throughout the Kazekage's flesh.

"Are the Konoha shinobi here!?" Temari stepped through the door quickly, soon followed by Kankuro. They both closed their mouths as they saw Sasuke operate on their father, silently watching the procedure unfold.

"What the…" Sasuke growled. "I need a water basin and a glass jar, now!"

One of the medics hastily complied, returning it to the Uchiha just as his eyes morphed into the Mangekyou. He ground his teeth as his shoulder began to pain him. The water levitated in his hands, which he then thoroughly pushed through the rotting areas.

"This isn't poison," Sasuke grunted in effort, his sharingan spinning. The Uchiha pushed the water, now a murky dark purple, inside the glass jar and held it there with one of his hands as he continued the work only with his right.

"It was Sasori of the red sand and another shinobi," Kankuro spoke. "I would recognize Sasori's puppetry anywhere," the man grimaced. "They attacked the village and father barely managed to hold back Sasori. The other shinobi defeated Gaara with ease and…"

"Not now," Sasuke snarled. "I'm trying to concentrate here!"

Another murky pool of purple ended up in the glass jar. One more soon followed, after a few tense minutes. In the end, the jar filled with deep purple water stood sealed on the nearby table, as Sasuke exhaled in relief.

The jar _squirmed_.

Sasuke deactivated his Mangekyou. "Those…were bugs," he acquiesced. "Flesh eating bugs. Nano-sized flesh eating bugs, to be more precise."

The Kazekage's breath became more even, albeit he remained asleep.

"We can talk outside," Sasuke continued, "Let him rest and whatever you imbeciles," he turned to the other medic-nins, "Decide to do…do not open that jar if you value your life."

Shinku gazed at the jar for a moment more, before moving outside with the other members of the team and the Kazekage's two remaining children.

"If you have anything that belongs to Gaara, we'll be able to track him down with ease," Kakashi said firmly. "I also would be grateful to receive any information about Sasori and the other shinobi."

"We didn't see much about the other one," Temari replied. "It was Gaara who found him out. We tried to intervene but…it was simply impossible."

"Yeah, they went at it like mad," Kankuro shuddered. "We evacuated the villagers as fast as we could, but it was a close call more than a few times."

"Were they wearing black clothes with red clouds?" Kakashi asked.

"They attacked at night," Kankuro said, "I have no idea. They had dark clothes, but I wouldn't have been able to recognize Sasori if he hadn't used one hundred puppets at the same time."

"WHITE FANG!" a blur of old, grey hair shot forth from the end of the corridor. Kakashi brought up his kunai to parry the blow, just as Shinku and Hanabi both slammed their shoulders one against the other before pushing forward —Shinku with a kunai in hand, Hanabi with her hands ready in the Juken style and her Byakugan active.

Naruko was faster, since she gripped the scruff of the neck of the blur's cloak first, and then she threw her backwards with enough strength to make the attacker fly through the entire corridor of the hospital.

The small grey blur twisted in mid-air and landed on the ground on her feet, to reveal an elderly old lady that charged ahead once more.

"Ohi Baa-chan! What the hell is your problem!"

"Stop, Chiyo-Baasama! He's not an enemy!" Temari exclaimed, just as the old lady suddenly stopped.

"Oh? Really?" she frowned, "Oh my…sorry. Tee-hee-hee."

There was a moment of utter silence. "Shouldn't old, mad people be kept sedated?" Shinku said calmly.

"Who are you calling old, you brat!?" the old woman said, suddenly sounding far more 'young' in her tone.

"Well, no, you are right madam. My teacher is old. You're an excavated fossil."

"I'll let you know I'm one of the most renowned poison creators in all of Sunagakure, brat," Chiyo spoke, nearing Shinku with a quick pace.

"Then I'll make sure never to be invited for an afternoon plum tea at the cemetery," Shinku retorted.

"Why you!"

"Now, now," Kakashi smiled, "There's no need to be this hostile. Sunagakure and Konohagakure are both allied villages. It was an honest mistake. The white fang was my father."

Shinku slowly returned the kunai into storage.

Naruko quietly lowered her hands.

Hanabi took a step back to remain behind Shinku.

"Tsk, fine," the old woman snorted. "I heard the Kazekage was poisoned, so I came as fast as I could."

"It wasn't poison," Sasuke spoke. "I took care of it."

"And who would you be, uh?"

"Tsunade of the sannin's apprentice?" Sasuke retorted. "Still a better medic than the headless chickens you had running around your Kazekage's death bed if I hadn't come along. Ever thought of actually teaching them something useful?"

"Mah," the old woman made a strange face, her mouth wide open just like her eyes. "You said something?"

"Are we sure she isn't related to Kakashi?" Shinku mumbled. "They're both senile in the same way."

Kakashi gazed at him for a moment. "Mah…you said something?"

"Anyway, I'll be tagging along," Chiyo said. "It's been so long since I've seen my grandson, and you'll need a puppeteer to fight another puppeteer."

"Ohi old lady, you ain't going anywhere!" Naruko exclaimed, "You'd probably have a heart attack and die!"

"She just dashed across the corridor, dobe," Sasuke grumbled. "I say she doesn't have health problems at all."

"Mah, mah…if she wants to come along let her," Kakashi shrugged. "We'll leave as soon as someone," he gazed at both Temari and Kankuro, "Brings me something that belongs to Gaara that my ninken can sniff."

Temari stiffened for a split second. "Of course! Sorry!" she flickered away in a small cloud of sand, leaving behind Kankuro who embarrassedly began to explain to Kakashi about Sasori.

Shinku calmly unrolled a scroll and poured chakra into it, before summoning forth the Bingo Book and flicking through the pages.

Hanabi peeked from his shoulder.

Naruko decided she was going to throttle the bitch if she stood any closer to Shin-chan. Just a friend her arse! Sasuke shook his head at the clear signs of anger on the Dobe, before heading over to peek from behind Shinku's other shoulder.

"He destroyed an entire country," Shinku read the Bingo book line twice. "He. Destroyed. One. Country."

The boy gazed at the ceiling for a moment, before returning to the book at hand. "S-rank threat, master poison maker, the bounty on his head ranges in the millions…puppeteer, last seen in Kusagakure in the company of…_Orochimaru_?"

"What? But Orochimaru's dead, right?" Sasuke asked warily.

"Yes," Shinku replied smoothly, "he is. On the other hand this means there's a new shinobi who we know nothing about with him."

"Meh, it's two against two," Naruko shrugged. "I can totally deal with one and Kakashi-sensei can deal with the other. And if they're Akatsuki then it will be up to dad and the Honourable Perverted Master."

"You're not counting me in," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Tsunade-Baachan said that as a medic, you must always remember your place is in the back," Naruko nodded with a small smirk on her lips. "She did say you shouldn't overexert yourself too."

Sasuke growled. "I'm not weak."

"No, but you are…" Naruko's next words died in her throat as she grimaced. "You'll just shorten your time, Uke-chan. Please, stay in the rear?"

"I'm not going to watch by as an S-rank shinobi tries to kill any member of the team," Sasuke retorted. "But if you can manage without my help, I won't intervene."

"We're five and half against two. It's going to be easy," Naruko chuckled.

"Who's the half?" Shinku asked.

"The Baa-chan here! She's a midget, isn't she?"

Chiyo's forehead sported a tick mark. "Why, you!"

Kakashi was grateful when he finally received a long scarf that belonged to Gaara —it meant he could finally stop hearing the constant bickering between Naruko and the old crone.

Travelling the desert by night was the exact opposite than travelling it by day. They couldn't waste more time or the trail would go cold, and as Pakkun sniffed and began to dash ahead in the sands, the rest of the team followed swiftly.

This time however, Naruko gripped Hanabi's arm as they went to slow her down. "Let's have some girl talk, you and I."

Shinku gave a quizzical look backwards, only to find himself pretty much in the same situation…but with Sasuke.

"Shinku, I need to talk with you."

He gave a nod towards the Uchiha, keeping up running but distancing himself together with him to the right of Kakashi. One of the small benefits of being in a desert was that it was easy not to lose someone —there were the dunes and little less to block the view.

"What is it?"

Sasuke clicked his tongue against his teeth, before gazing at him.

"Are you keeping something a secret from me?"

Shinku frowned, "Uh?"

"I know Naruko's hiding something from me."

"I…have no clue? What did you talk about?" Shinku asked, perplexed.

"Why she suddenly wanted to become Hokage," Sasuke retorted. "And why she had to make friends in order to become one."

"Oh," Shinku blinked. "I told her the requirement for being considered a Jounin, and when she didn't like what she heard she decided to become Hokage in order to change it," Shinku grimaced. "Unfortunately, I pointed out she would never become Hokage if she didn't actually love the villagers…"

"Ah," Sasuke actually blinked back. "Only this?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't she tell me?"

Shinku hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Maybe because she didn't think it was something important?"

"It isn't something important," Sasuke muttered. "Ah…I shouldn't have doubted."

"Doubted what?"

Sasuke blearily grimaced. "I thought you were trying to keep me out of the loop on something important."

"Well, we were planning a surprise birthday party for you," Shinku retorted with a small smile. "But well, cat's out of the bag."

Sasuke gave him a serious glare.

"What? We even had the clown ready."

Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. "No balloons?"

"You're too old for balloons," Shinku rolled his eyes. "On the other hand, maybe—"

A giant, widespread explosion whitened the sky.

The deafening sound, the incredible heat and pressure, the blinding light pushed Shinku backwards as if a giant mallet had hit him with the strength of a titan. His back slammed against a sand dune, throwing him all the way through it and against the other side, where his body rolled on the ground, his vision pitch-black. He couldn't see a single thing.

He coughed, his hands gripping the sand. If he couldn't see then Inner couldn't see either.

_**Switch with me.**_

He obeyed ending up in the familiar blood soaked desert as Inner slowly stumbled back up, kunai in hand.

Shinku still couldn't see anything, and sounds came to him dull and drowned out. He closed his eyes and breathed, patiently waiting. He could do nothing until he at least had his sight back. He lowered himself down on his knees, letting the sounds wash over him.

There had been a giant explosion. The enemy had probably prepared a trap. Since the explosion had come from further ahead than they had been, it meant Pakkun had ignited the trap.

His bile rose to his throat. On one side, the dog was a summoned creature of Kakashi and was probably safe. On the other, Kakashi had been closer to the explosion than him. Chiyo had been the one further back, so maybe she had been unaffected by it. Naruko was probably still standing, and since he hadn't heard any sound of a nearby body fall close by, it meant Sasuke had used the Susanoo to shield himself.

So…Naruko and Sasuke were up and probably fighting.

Kakashi was, in all probability, injured.

The Rookie had been back with Naruko, so if the girl was standing she probably had shielded Hanabi. However, since he wasn't feeling the Hyuga girl nearby, it meant that she was as blind as him…but hadn't been moved backwards by the blast.

Outer relayed all of his thinking to Inner, who carefully and slowly opened his eyes. The night in the desert wasn't dark. The stars twinkled their way as the moon shone down brightly on the sands.

The cold breeze of the wind picked up, as the sand clouds lifted in the air. Carefully, Shinku wobbled to the top of the sand dune he had barrelled through. Before reaching the top he lowered himself on the ground, crawling the last few meters.

He saw the enemy shinobi first, and he paled.

A hundred shinobi stood on the sands, weapons ready and shining. Up in the air, a dark foreboding _dragon_ was flying. The milky white skin of the giant beast made Shinku's mouth drop open in shock. A dragon? A fucking, frigging, _dragon_? Dragons didn't exist! They didn't exist and they couldn't be there!

_It isn't real. Looks…fake. Enemy shinobi, wrong forms. P…Puppets?_

_**A thousand puppets and a giant fake dragon? Sasori has a lot of free time I bet.**_

_Remember, there's two of them. Isn't Naruko supposed to summon the Yondaime?_

_**Only if they're Akatsuki.**_

_Why? Because if they aren't we can die and be done with it?_

Where was Hanabi anyway? Wasn't she meant to be the forewarning? He'd have a word with her after this was over. She should have kept her Byakugan always active —chat with Naruko or not.

His eyes found the rest of the team precisely as he had thought. Sasuke stood kneeling near Kakashi's knocked out body —from where he was, Shinku couldn't see the degree of wounds— while Naruko was standing on all fours and growling out loudly.

Four black chakra tails erupted from her back.

Shinku was strangely very glad the blast had sent him off like that. His eyes found Chiyo holding on to ten strange things —puppets, apparently— all out and ready.

He was missing Hanabi.

She wasn't in the group.

_New theory: she flew backwards like us, but she wasn't heavy enough to pass through a dune, and she didn't have our reinforced armour so the blow was stronger on her and knocked her out._

Inner gazed sharply around. How could he find the dune the girl 'blasted' through, if the sand closed it off? His right hand clenched. It couldn't be his own, and judging by the trajectory he had ended up following…if Hanabi had followed the same trajectory, but on the opposite side of Kakashi…

He slid back down from the dune. He was sure the rest of his teammates could hold off, and Hanabi was his responsibility. Maybe they weren't in Anbu any longer, maybe there wasn't an actual 'official' responsibility towards her…but he hadn't trained with her for a month, he hadn't taught her things for a month, he hadn't talked to her for a month to let her die _suffocated_ in a sand dune.

Shinku brought his right hand up in the tiger seal as he neared the possible point of impact. He froze. If he used fire to glass the sand, in the middle of the night, moon or not he'd be seen. He couldn't possibly dig her out by hand…

"Think, think, think, think," Outer growled inside his head, kicking the blood soaked sand that flew in the air. "How the hell…wait." He stomped on the blood soaked sand.

Inner opened up his storage scroll, pouring out all thirty-five water bottles he had on his person. A hand sign, a giant cloud of mist, and then the sand turned wet as he pushed the torrent of water out of his throat with enhanced speed.

The sand parted ways in large chunks, the water pouring through the grains and turning the sand solid. During the day, the water would have simply evaporated away but during the night, the feat was doable. He dug his way through spitting out a torrent of water and digging with his bare hands, working his way towards the middle of the dune as fast as he could.

If Hanabi was unconscious, she probably wasn't going to survive longer than ten minutes without oxygen. The time it took for him to regain the sight and realize what was going on…he hoped it wasn't beyond ten minutes. A hand covered in wet sand emerged from the side of the sand tunnel he had created, and hastily Shinku stopped spewing forth the water to grip at it and pull, pulling out Hanabi covered in sand and unconscious.

She wasn't breathing.

"Not on my watch, brat," Shinku snarled, opening her Anbu armour and her jacket, going as far as exposing her breasts by slicing open with his kunai her shirt. "Not. On. My. Watch."

Inclining her head backwards, he proceeded to push air into her lungs through his mouth. His eyes sharply moved to her chest, which was expanding and contracting.

It wasn't kissing.

It was saving someone else's life.

Hanabi opened her eyes wide and coughed, turning to the side to puke sand and her lunch.

He patted her back and held her hair back as the girl trembled lightly, her eyes filled with tears from the fright.

"Now listen," Shinku muttered. "You stay in here and use the Byakugan to keep an eye on the situation. Whatever happens, _do not leave this spot_ unless we won or we're all dead and the enemy has left," he spoke sternly. "I'll go and see if I can help in the battle," Shinku wobbly stood back on his feet.

"You…" Hanabi mumbled, "You're wounded."

"Just a bit of wobbling knees," he replied, "Nothing much…remember, stay in here. Understood?"

Hanabi nodded quickly, activating her Byakugan a moment later just as Shinku exited the dune carefully. She blushed scarlet after a few seconds, hastily closing her jacket to cover her indecencies.

Shinku winced. He was already halfway through his chakra reserves. It was truly a wonderful night. He had dug out a teammate from nearly suffocating in a sand dune while repeatedly using the Water Bullet technique… What else? Oh yes, the two S-rank shinobi who had also knocked out Kakashi were apparently a man capable of controlling a small army and one who could make a giant dragon fly.

He was starting to miss the war.

**Author's notes**

**We end on a cliffhanger.**

**Yes, I diverted a bit from canon…but I did keep quite a few things the same.**

**Next chapter of The Boy in the Team:**

**Happiness! Fluff! People doing nice things to one another! Love and Friendship is in the air!**

**For Shinku's mouth-to-mouth respiration, I referred to a Wikipedia image. Apparently, yes, you have to clear all possible constrictions including clothes.**

**Oh, right guys, concerning the sucker punch…I'm sorry, I lied. There's no sucker punch. The cake is a lie.**


	56. Entering True Demonic Despair

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Six

Naruko's blood was boiling. She could control four tails with ease, but the feeling she held within was one of pure unbridled hatred. Whenever she used the Kyuubi, the feeling was always the same.

"Master Sasori! I told you art is an explosion!" a loud and obnoxious voice reached her ears, coming from way above the ground. There was no reply from 'Sasori'. The puppets that composed his army however charged ahead.

Chiyo pushed her own ten forward, engaging the group before they could reach the place where Sasuke was trying to stabilize Kakashi.

"Well, I'll just drop another bomb," Deidara smiled as his hands went to his pockets. "Hey there's a little fox down there! Man, are we lucky or what, master Sasori? Let's capture her too!"

A flock of small clay birds erupted from his sleeves next, "Look! A magic trick foxy-chan! Follow the mighty Deidara!"

Naruko snarled, jumping in mid-air straight in the middle of the flock of clay birds. The birds detonated, but as Naruko pushed herself through without a scratch, the dragon's tail came crashing down on her side and sent her flying against the sand. Her tails shot up, emitting concentrated rays of chakra that the dragon deftly avoided.

On the other side, Sasuke grounded his teeth as he kept closing off the wounds on Kakashi's body. The man had taken on the brunt of the damage, and while he now was mask-less…he probably would need a mask when it was all over to hide the burns.

A puppet of Sasori barged through Chiyo's ten-puppet blockade, sword gleaming and ready to strike him down. His Susanoo emerged with just one hand to grip at the puppet, smashing it to wooden bits. Sasuke growled, his shoulder pulsing and paining him viciously.

"Not now," he mumbled. "Not now."

Shinku watched from his spot. Naruko was taking care of one menace, the other held at bay by Chiyo who seemed to be losing. There yet wasn't the appearance of the puppeteer in question however, and Shinku's eyes narrowed.

_The puppeteer must be nearby to control those. Where?_

_**I'd be somewhere hidden.**_

_In the sand._

_**What about breathing?**_

_An empty bamboo cane or something to breathe would solve the problem._

Shinku carefully crawled laterally, avoiding charging in from the frontline. He wouldn't survive a second in that scattering high-speed battle between puppets. The ten of Chiyo were literally tearing apart by the dozen those of Sasori, but for every dozen one of hers 'died'. Sasuke was still healing Kakashi, which was probably what Sasori counted on.

A tiny amount of chakra went into the small storage seal he held close to his neck. The small vial quickly moved into his right hand's storage seal in the place of the kunai, and with that Inner exhaled.

_We're not letting him out._

_**We'll make the call when it gets to that.**_

He needed to pinpoint the location, but in order to do so…if only he could see the chakra strings. Wait.

He carefully turned on the radio near his throat, making a sign of doing the same in the air. A few seconds later, Hanabi's voice crackled through his earpiece.

"Bird, you requested help?"

"Chakra strings. Can you see where Sasori's originate from?"

"Y-Yes," there was a heartbeat of silence. "Third sand dune, I can't see beneath such a thick layer of sand but…they're coming from there."

"How deep?"

"I think more than five meters."

"How is he breathing down there?" Shinku mumbled.

"I…Maybe he has an oxygen tank?"

"Possible. Maintain radio contact."

"H-Hai."

Shinku glided down the dune, ignoring the sounds nearby as he dashed through the sands as quietly as possible.

"To ten o'clock, Bird. Yes, straight ahead."

Shinku reached the base of the dune, quickly grabbing from a storage scroll long and thin tubes filled with gunpowder, with one of their sides covered in metal while the other held a simple bamboo cover. "We use this to bring down bunkers," Shinku grumbled, slamming them on the ground.

"I want to see you not coming out after this," he hissed.

"BIRD!" roared through his earpiece.

_**AWAY.**_

Shinku kicked a cloud of sand as he jumped backwards, avoiding by mere inches a giant steel tail made of multiple connected blades. His hands quickly went through the seals, before throwing out of his mouth a stream of fire that ignited the bunker busters.

It was somewhat funny how nobody had realized he had kept the entire 'clearing' equipment from his team. They really should have asked him to empty his pockets when he returned to Konoha. It would have made for a fun half an hour of him removing bombs and other _interesting_ things.

_You're a kleptomaniac._

_**Ohi. It's something I like and it's unguarded? I take it.**_

The explosion rocked the air as for a single fleeting moment the remaining puppets of Sasori stilled —Chiyo used that second to take care of the vast majority of them, before Sasori actually emerged out of his hiding hole as sand fell all around the crater where once the dune was.

"Bunker buster," Shinku drawled out. "Highly explosive gas contained within an aerodynamic bullet pushed down with a charge, ignites after a few seconds."

Sasori stood with its tail high and ready to strike in the air, his appearance that of a giant turtle with the black robes of Akatsuki loosely flailing around, half-charred.

"These were my best robes," Sasori growled.

"I'm sure you'll find another tailor," Chiyo retorted, bringing her remaining four puppets forward.

In that moment, a puppet appeared from thin air. Covered in black loose robes, the puppet proceeded to slam pikes of iron with incredible ease through the puppets. The iron sand then burst apart into a thin cloud that completely entrapped and crushed the little defence Chiyo still had in the form of puppets.

"I suppose I should present to you one of my masterpieces then," Sasori commented. "I really would have preferred to finish this early, but well…I'll need to rebuild my collection now. A true pity, but an artist's work is never done."

A flick of the hand, and the iron sand floated in the air like tiny snowflakes.

"Each one of these single grains of metal sand is poisoned with powerful venom, which will paralyze you for three days and then kill you," Sasori remarked calmly, as if it wasn't something important at all. "In those three days, I'll turn your bodies into puppets while you still are alive, enjoying seeing your eyes give me all the terror of being impotent in front of your own transformation into a glorious piece of art!"

Shinku watched as the iron sands turned into branch like forms. "I'll make sure to damage you as little as possible."

Shinku's eyes widened in shock as the branches seemingly multiplied within mere seconds, coming an inch away from his very eyes before a chakra shield came up to protect him. His breathing grew ragged as his heart drummed faster and faster.

The chains clanked.

Chiyo huffed, holding two more puppets in her hands. "Are you done yet, kid?" she said towards Sasuke. "We could use your help, you know."

Sasuke ground his teeth. The Susanoo shield protected him and Kakashi, but he couldn't be distracted. The shrapnel needed removal. The poison needed purging. "I need five minutes!"

The pain he felt in his shoulder was like a hot scorching iron poking through his flesh and through his lungs and spine, and yet he held up both the Susanoo and the healing. He growled from the pain, his sharingan spinning.

Shinku dropped a smoke bomb, before flanking the iron sand's attack to reach for Chiyo. "If you have any ideas, I'm all ears," Shinku remarked as he watched the puppets used as shields turn unresponsive.

"The iron sand will make short work of any puppetry," Chiyo said quietly, "But the second Kazekage…the iron sand was one of the heaviest and strongest. We need to seal off his movements."

"If we could just cut his chakra strings," Shinku muttered.

"Those are living puppets, boy," Chiyo retorted. "They have a chakra system and can use techniques…they're forbidden, made from corpses…it doesn't take more than a second for a skilled puppeteer to reform a broken chakra string. Those puppets make it even easier."

"Bird, I could…" the voice came through his earplug, but he sharply made a negative gesture with his left hand.

"No," he snapped, "There has to be a way to stop them. Kill the puppeteer…"

"Bird! I can help! I can cut the chakra strings and…"

The negative sign came up again.

The next moment, the sand reformed into a massive fist. "Very well," Sasori exhaled, "Time to smother you gently. You won't even realize you're suffocating…"

The fist came down, hard. Shinku shunshin'd to the right, followed by Chiyo who connected a chakra string to one of her broken puppets, to let it unleash a deadly barrage of firebombs on the upcoming wall of iron sand. The puppet's broken bits exploded afterwards, but in the midst of the explosions, she managed to substitute with a puppet.

When the sand turned into tiny swords and stabbed at her, her fake body fizzled and burst apart in a powerful detonation.

"It is useless. What you're trying to do is just waiting for the inevitable to happen…because in the end, it's not about you staying alive."

The sand reformed as a crushing grip that tightened around Sasuke's Susanoo. The chakra construct howled and screamed, before Sasuke yelled aloud.

"You want to play with fire!? FINE!" Sasuke stopped healing Kakashi, his hands rapidly going through a set of hand seals as his eyes shone darkly. His blood boiled within his body as his entire skin felt flailed alive. "_**Enton: Yasaka no Magatama!**_"

Black flames erupted from Sasuke's Susanoo, slamming like fireballs against Sasori's puppet and the sand nearby. The flames burned darkly, turning the sand to glass within mere instants and melting together the metallic sand. The fire spread throughout the entire hand, which fell on the ground with a heavy thunk.

Sasuke's Susanoo failed the next moment, as the boy panted hard clenching his shoulder tightly. Sweat poured down from his body, his breath ragged.

"You want more?" Sasuke snarled with his tomoe spinning. "I'm giving you more! _**AMATERASU**_!"

A black line of flames spread through everything Sasuke saw with his eye, slamming straight into the chest of the second Kazekage. The wooden puppet combusted into flames and exploded, before Sasuke's flame tried to pursue and slam into Sasori.

Yet it didn't, because Sasuke grunted and closed his eyes.

He emitted a pain filled scream, shuddering violently as his shoulder trembled and then _cracked_. A small scaly horn appeared over his arm, forcing him on the ground to clench the sand.

"Ah…ah…" Sasuke gasped for breath.

Shinku took that moment as the cue to strike. Explosive tag in hand, he charged ahead with all the speed he could muster. If he managed to get Sasori while he was still under 'shock', then—

Sasori's mouth —no, Sasori's puppet that covered his entire body— opened its mouth to unleash a volley of senbon needles straight in his direction. Shinku covered his face and ground his teeth.

The senbon needles slammed into his armor, before _bouncing_ away. He loved his armor. He loved his steel plates. He loved every single nook and cranny covered in steel he had on his body. He loved his jacket. He loved the way the senbon needles couldn't penetrate through and kill him with their poison.

He really, really, felt exhilarated. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to dance. He wanted to scream. He wanted to kill.

He wanted to butcher.

The giant steel tail was another thing, and _that_ did hit him hard on the side sending him against the sand to roll and lift a cloud of dust.

He gurgled for air, the attack having dented his plates.

"Long…live…steel," he mumbled incoherently as he stumbled back on his feet.

"Armor? Since when do shinobi wear _armor_?" Sasori retorted. "It makes one slow."

"Shut…the fuck up," Shinku hissed, coughing out a dribble of blood. "I'm still alive, you hypocrite. Like your…not wearing one." Every time he breathed, the dented steel plates hurt his chest and ribs, but he couldn't remove them during battle…and frankly, dented or not he was keeping them precisely where they were meant to be.

"You forgot someone, Sasori-chan!" Chiyo exclaimed suddenly, as she thrust both of her hands forward. Two puppets slammed against the man's own armor-puppet, one holding down his movements while the other halted his tail.

"Go for the tag boy!"

In the split second that it took for Shinku to start running once more, Sasori's puppet body twisted with inhuman strength, shattering the two half-broken puppets Chiyo had scavenged. The tail-blade struck against Shinku's chest just as his tag slammed into Sasori's face.

Shinku gurgled as he felt himself pummeled on the ground again. Sasori's wooden limbs cracked down hard on Shinku's chest before the tag fizzled and shone, ready to explode.

Blood sprayed out of Shinku's mouth, but before the tag exploded, he felt his entire body pulled away, moving as if invisible strings were moving his unresponsive limbs. The explosion tore apart Sasori's body, forcing the man within to jump out…and reveal himself in yet another dark black and with red clouds cloak, his short red hair and his dull eyes shining out.

His face looked completely unbothered. He seemed more annoyed than anything else.

Shinku found himself back on his feet, before Chiyo let go of the chakra strings she had used to bring him to safety. "You still working, kid?"

"Cough…I'm not...resting like a granny."

The chains shuddered.

He clenched his fists. Blood dripped down his body. The smell, it was so intoxicating.

"You destroyed two of my masterpieces tonight," he replied. "Very well then…I will have to _up the ante_," completely neutral in his tone, Sasori summoned forth yet one more puppet.

The chains completely shattered free as Shinku howled a despair and wretch filled agonizing howl within his very mind and body.

Naruko growled, the man was bringing her further and further away from the others. Still, he wasn't getting down! That was annoying. Nobody should be able to keep on dodging her like this!

She stopped trying to jump up to catch the man —he'd use bombs to cover himself from her sight, and then he'd quickly move elsewhere.

She stilled, and then she opened her mouth wide.

The concept was simple. If she couldn't be precise in striking him down…she'd blow him up at his own game. The giant Bijudama erupted from her mouth charged with dark chakra, before flying into the air…seemingly past him. A ray from her tail changed the equation, the explosion's pressure making Deidara's ears ring.

"Unfair! Unfair! Unfaiiir!" Deidara screamed as the dragon began to plummet into the ground. "My explosions are the best!"

A kick and Deidara jumped away as his dragon began to shine. The creature coiled itself around Naruko's form before exploding. The ground turned to glass and ashes, leaving behind an humongous crater as the blinding light dazzled Deidara from its beauty.

Yet the light died out in an instant, that instant of absolute beauty that Deidara believed in…and that a giant claw had now forever taken away from him. He gurgled as he felt blood rise to his mouth, the claw piercing his chest and gripping at his very spine.

Six tails lazily floated in the air, all coming from Naruko's back. The girl didn't even bother talking. She just _crushed the spine where it was and laughed_, before watching the man detonate into a blinding explosive light.

The explosion didn't damage her. It was massive, maybe it was even pretty, but it didn't damage her. The sands around the crater were now purely made of glass…water seemed to pour in from the ground below —maybe the explosion had even nicked an underwater basin— but she didn't care.

She slowly pushed the Kyuubi's chakra back, slowly; carefully…she pushed it back. Six tails became five. Five tails became four. Four turned to two and then none.

She winced as her raw skin felt the cold breeze, but she didn't even bleed before it began to regenerate, closing all of her wounds.

She didn't need her father to defeat Akatsuki. She could do it on her own. She was strong, strong enough not to need help from _anyone_. She would never let one of her friends suffer for—

Then she heard the scream. The soul-rending scream that froze her very bones and forced her to turn her head sharply in the direction she came from. Her heart stilled for a moment. That was…

That was Shinku's voice, right?

The puppet Sasori brought out was standing on slender chakra wings. Her body appeared alive, but her flesh replaced with wood gave her just barely a bit of resemblance to the girl she had once been. There wasn't any light in her eyes. There wasn't any speech in her throat.

Shinku's shoulders trembled as tears pooled down his eyes.

"You knew her?" Sasori asked with his voice completely bored. "She was one of the first we captured. Her village was glad to get rid of her…we paid quite a ryo to _buy_ her. Funny, maybe you know of a certain _Shinku_? She screamed his name quite a few times. I think she expected him to come and save her, but then again…he didn't come."

The chains turned to dust. The sand began to scorch. The bloody moon closed its light on the desert soaked with a bloody haze.

Shinku's breathing grew.

"Gah…Ah…I…Ah…"

His arms trembled.

A swarm of flesh eating insects burst out from Fu's mouth, which opened with a sordid clack. The swarm resembled more a light purple fog rather than an actual swarm.

"I enhanced her, of course. Worked her flesh, her bones…unfortunately I had to work with a dead body, but I had a suitable hive to use I got from a shinobi I killed before. Nano sized flesh eating bugs…they're quite rare I hear."

Sasori inclined his head to the side. "So, tell me…you still haven't answered. Do you know of a certain _Shinku_?"

"Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar." Shinku snarled. "It's red. It's crimson. It's…it's RED!" he yelled, raising his fist. "It's not her! IT can't BE her! It's red. Crimson. It's not…It's NOT HER!"

Outer snapped his eyes shut. He didn't want to think.

He didn't want to say.

He didn't want to do.

He didn't want. He didn't wish. He didn't desire to tell the truth.

He knew. They knew. They all knew. It wasn't difficult. How could a bug say anything when it worked on pheromones? How could a bug tell the life or death of someone miles away? Chakra? It fed on chakra, but whose?

The bug was crimson because it _fed_ on _Shinku's_ _**blood**_ and _**chakra**_. It was _**crimson**_ because of that…not because of Fu being alive or not.

"Oh? So…you are Shinku?" Sasori chuckled. It was an empty and hollow chuckle. "What did she think of you, I wonder? That you would brave our organization's headquarters? Make your way to us, through our S-rank shinobi? What are you anyway? A Jounin, an Anbu? You're so battered and frail…why don't you surrender? I'll make you into a masterpiece. You'll be by her side, wouldn't you like that?"

"Die," Shinku hissed. "Die. _Die_. _**Die**_. **Die**. **DIE**. _**DIE.**_. _**DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE**_."

The small vial popped out of Shinku's storage seal.

_**Kill him.**_

_Kill him._

**KILL.**

He swallowed it with a single swipe, letting the liquid pour down his throat like a soothing balm.

During the battle of Paddy Fields, he swallowed four Soldier pills in one go to keep on going.

After that day, he carried it with him.

_Six_ soldier pills, minced and mixed with water…if he had to die, he'd die in a blaze of glory. If he had to avenge, he'd avenge and die.

If he had to defy the odds, he'd defy them. His heart pumped harder than ever. His wounds burned as the chakra simply increased, pouring out from his body like a light haze. His body lowered his position as the chakra erupted from his back with a deafening scream.

The dark purple flames of his chakra formed, burning at his wounds and flesh.

Pouring through his skin, pouring through his body, the demon ate at him and _consumed_.

Sasuke was silent, horrified by Fu's fate. Then he _saw_ Shinku...and he screamed for him to stop.

"NO! SHINKU! STO—"

Shinku's armor dropped on the ground, dust lifting away as he screamed louder than before. His chakra poured out more than his body could handle, burning at him as he charged ahead with a devastating speed.

Sasori flicked a finger, and Fu's body came up as his shield. The chakra formed a barrier that dulled the blow of Shinku's flame coated fist. The flames burned as Shinku's body twisted, slamming a kick to the side of Fu's face. His arms shot forth as his mouth enlarged to erupt in a flamethrower technique. Barbed wire emerged from within the confines of his wrists, scorching red. It bound tightly around Fu's puppet body.

Tears of blood ran down Shinku's cheeks.

The puppet freed herself, the swarms of bugs dying by the thousands as the flames burned them to ashes before they could reach him. She…no, It charged ahead, a kick straight through the chest ignoring the flames as Sasori's own poisoned steel tail came out with his arm blades.

Shinku gripped on Fu's foot, twisting it and cracking it apart with inhuman strength. He spun, ramming the girl against the sand and then back in mid-air. His demon's arms elongated, trying to slam down on the puppet's stomach. Sasori's tail snaked free and pierced Shinku's chest, but his hands gripped tightly and pulled, the puppeteer ending up closer to where he stood.

The fist crashed into Sasori's face, flames burning out as Shinku dropped down on Sasori's lying body. The second fist slammed into Sasori's side of the face, cracking the ceramic. The third broke his mandible. The fourth, the fifth, the sixth…the arm-blades sliced through Shinku's sides until he pinned them both down and roared, showing his flaming mouth inches away from Sasori's.

"Are you…not…afraid…of…death?"

Shinku could not reply.

The fireball at point blank range answered the question.

The moment Sasori's body burned, a violent explosion flung Shinku in the air and then against the sand, letting him once more roll on the ground. He tried to stand, but the flames that surrounded him died out. What they left behind was a charred body with scars covering his entire back, chest and sides. Punctures of kunai, senbon needles, slashes of blades and marks of techniques used against him. They all stood like a tapestry.

A giant, scary tapestry that did not bleed…Sasori had wounded him, but Shinku had _burned his wounds closed._

Sasuke gazed at Kakashi and then at Shinku. He looked at his right arm and clenched his fist. Kakashi could survive. He needed to check on him.

Chiyo wobbled on her feet and back towards them, just as Hanabi emerged running from her hiding spot. Tears filled her vision as she blurred to a stop next to Shinku's downed body.

"Where were you?" Sasuke snarled, gazing at her with venom in his eyes.

"He told me not to move!" Hanabi exclaimed back, "He…he's going to make it, right?" she held tightly to the neck of her jacket, gripping it to the point where her knuckles turned white.

"It's bad," Sasuke hissed as he pushed chakra through his hands, the pain on his shoulder an utter agony. "Really bad…organ failures…I…I don't have enough chakra to do this. He clogged his veins…he burned them…I…Ohi…" tears began to fall down Sasuke's eyes. "Ohi…Hey…you can't do this, all right? It's been five years. You can't do this now. The Dobe's going to cry to death, you hear me?"

Sasuke's hands quavered. Hanabi began to sob.

"SHIN-CHAN!" Naruko barged into the clearing as fast as she could, "Ohi! What's going on? Where's…" her voice just died. "No, no, no, no..."

She pushed Hanabi to the side, the Hyuga falling on the ground as Naruko grabbed onto Shinku's jacket. "_YOU CAN'T DO THIS BULLSHIT! YOU HEARD ME! OHI! STOP BULLSHITTING ME! FUCKING OPEN THOSE EYES! OPEN. THOSE. EYES! SHINKU! OPEN THOSE EYES! OPEN THEM!"_

There was no reply.

"His heart stopped…beating, Naruko," Sasuke muttered. "He's…dead."

Naruko slammed her right hand on the ground, grinding it against the sand until it began to bleed. "No…stupid…fucker…why? I'm the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki…come on…I'm the one who gets to fight…come on…I'm…I…You can't…please. Please!"

"There's nothing I can do," Sasuke muttered. "I don't have any chakra left, and…" he gazed at his shoulder, his eyes humid. "There's a high chance I'd just kill him no matter what I tried…his heart stopped beating. He's dead…at least…he's with Fu now."

"What?" Naruko mouthed that out before grabbing onto Sasuke's jacket. "What!?"

Sasuke gazed at the tanned corpse of Fu, turned into a puppet for Sasori's sick enjoyment.

Naruko was next to the puppet in a moment, her hands quavering and trembling. "Ohi…This…no…Come on, it's not…this is just a doll, right? It's not…it's not the real deal…It…"

Fu's puppet body suddenly jerked, before plunging her right arm turned weapon straight through Naruko's chest and straight against her heart.

"The boss wanted you alive," Sasori spoke from within Fu's body, where he had thrown his core before his other body burned to death. "But this works fine too. The Ichibi's already ours…we'll wait for the Kyuubi."

Naruko's mouth dribbled down a trickle of blood.

Then she made a light, simple chuckle.

"Heh."

The rasengan, which she formed with both of her hands, slammed through Fu's body and enlarged. Soon they gained the size of boulders as they tore to smithereens Sasori.

"I see…I see…they won't stop, Akatsuki just won't stop…" Naruko bitterly laughed. "Until they take away everyone I care for, they won't stop…They…they won't stop…"

Her shoulders trembled. "I'm going to kill them all," Naruko whispered gazing at the sky. "I'm going to butcher them. I'm going to slaughter them. I'm going to kill their loved ones, their families. I'm going to destroy their villages and burn their farms. I'm going to make them suffer. I'm going to make them suffer…."

She cried, her tears mixing with her coughed out words. "Why? Why? Why can't I be the one to die? Stab my heart and I'll be right back up. Why did it have to be Shinku? Why?" she clenched her fists, "I could have taken the blows. I…I could have."

Naruko slammed a fist on the ground in frustration. "It's my fault. My fault, all my fault. I should have called. I should have…I'm not…I'm not…I'm a worthless idiot! I…" she brought her face down against the ground, letting her tears fall. She remained like that, crouched and crying.

Chiyo didn't say a word. She just looked towards the dead body and then crouched near it. "Ah…my old body isn't what it used to be anymore," she moved a lock of Shinku's hair to the side. "Might as well make do with what little I have left…my grandson is dead, my brother's probably going to be sad but…ah, no girl should cry like that for so long. Loss is always a sad thing and…when you get my age, I guess you get soft-hearted too."

Sasuke gazed at Chiyo with a perplexed look. "The more people you kill, the more people suffer," Chiyo continued, "But if you don't let go…then nothing can change," her hands moved closer to Shinku's chest. "This is a forbidden technique, really…something I learned because I was stupid and wanted my grandson to be happy…I would have gladly given my life for his happiness, and now…well, now I'll shoulder his sins a bit," Chiyo chuckled lightly. "Funny how it works… just do this one old lady a favor…don't let this sadness continue, please. Losing your son, losing your loved ones, losing those you call friends…it's sad and breaks the heart…but don't let it get to you," her hands glowed green. "Do you hear me? Don't let this happen again…to anyone."

Chiyo closed her eyes and hummed a little song, one she sang to Sasori the first time he had held him in her arms, she remembered the fond moments when she had been happy, when her loved ones were still alive. She remembered and even though a single tear fell down her cheek, the smile on her lips never left.

Even as she died, that smile never left.

Shinku's eyes snapped open to the blood soaked desert.

"THE CHAINS!" Inner roared, and Outer obeyed. The creature roared in anger and rage, flames burning through his body even as chains made of sand rose from the ground to bind it.

"What happened!?"

"I don't know!" Inner snarled, slamming a headbutt straight against the Demon. The creature roared louder, "Was he ever this difficult to subdue!?"

"Muzzle him!" Outer said, jumping on the back of the creature as ninja wire erupted from his sleeves to press against his neck.

Demon fell on the ground snarling and roaring, even as chains thickly bound him and finally hid him from view.

Inner and Outer both exhaled in relief.

"What happened?" Inner asked.

"I don't know. I thought _you_ knew."

"We were fighting Sasori, right?"

"Yes…but…" Outer winced. "I can't remember."

"Me neither," Inner mumbled. "He must have eaten them, those memories. Maybe they were painful."

"You think he killed Hanabi?"

"We won't know until we wake up," Inner acquiesced. "But I'm not in the mood of feeling hurt. Let's just…sleep."

Cautiously, Inner moved away from the bound Demon and sat down against a blood soaked dune of sand. "I'm getting tired of the desert."

Outer chuckled as he joined him on the sand, gazing at the moon.

"I think it's better than…I don't know, a sewer or a boiler room," Outer retorted.

"Yeah," Inner muttered, yawning loudly. "I suppose so."

They spoke no other words as they slept.

Eventually…they'd have to wake up.

But not on that day, because even though they didn't know why…they both had tears silently falling down their cheeks.

To those tears, they refused to give an explanation.

**Author's notes**

**I **_**cried**_** writing these words. Literally. I had tears falling down my eyes both at Fu's reveal and at Chiyo's last words. You know what I said earlier? I really don't know where the story heads until I'm a step away from the next step, and the little torch I hold really doesn't show much of where I walk upon.**

**I'm sorry, I'm as sad as you all probably are but…the muse guided my hands, and I obeyed. **

**Shinku's 'ultimate' suicide technique is revealed.**

**Fu's nano flesh eating bugs came from **_**Torune's**_** father who apparently died during a mission when he was young. (I tweaked it so that he died because of Sasori, who got the hive.)**

***takes a deep breath***

**I usually write listening to background 'epic' music. So I naturally associate a specific 'music' to characters as I go.**

**Chiyo's last words should be read with Lucas King - The Last Leaf Falls as background music.**

**Shinku's **_**Demon**_** music theme is, in my opinion, Stephen Lloyd - Dark Side.**

**Shinku's **_**Inner**_** music theme is Kyueko - Classical Destruction.**

**Shinku's **_**Outer**_** music theme is Cengizhan Yavuzer - Do You Remember My Name.**

**Tell me if they're 'correct' or if you yourself already did the same thing (and in that case, what music best 'fits' in your opinion the character)**


	57. Never Doubt Kakashi's Gutpunch

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Seven

The heartbeat monitor beeped methodically. The chest went up and down mechanically. Sasuke gazed at the body on the hospital bed and exhaled. Hanabi squirmed from her spot, her hands on her knees.

"You should rest too. It's already been two days," Sasuke muttered. Hanabi shook her head.

"You haven't slept either, Uchiha-san."

"Call me Sasuke," he replied with a hint of annoyance. His eyes trailed over Shinku's face. "What was he thinking? Did he think we'd be happy to see him die?"

Hanabi squirmed some more. "Shinku-san cares about his teammates very much," she mumbled.

"You were watching the battle with the Byakugan?" Sasuke asked, "Where were you to begin with?"

"Inside a sand dune," she whispered softly, "If Shinku-san hadn't come to save me, I'd have probably suffocated in there…" Hanabi gazed at his face with a look of longing, "Was…was that woman Sasori used…"

"Yes," Sasuke exhaled, "That's…I don't know how he'll take the news," he brought both hands to his raven hair, letting them pass through his locks. "Fu was a friend, but she was also Shinku's…I'd say first love," he shook his head. "What a mess."

"Will he be fine?" Hanabi murmured.

"His body is made of tough stuff, I'll give him that," Sasuke retorted. "It's his mind I'm scared about."

"Shinku-san sometimes speaks to himself," Hanabi said. "He said he did that to cope with stress."

"Ah…it's more complicated than that," Sasuke whispered, "But it's not my story to tell."

He carefully touched with the back of his hand Shinku's forehead, exhaling as the temperature returned in the norm. "At least he hasn't turned yellow," the Uchiha continued. "It means he's filtered through the worse stuff."

"When…will he wake up?"

"I don't know that," Sasuke continued. "If he continues to sleep, we'll just have to carry him back to Konoha. Tsunade-shishou will probably take care of whatever problem he has in a flash."

Hanabi gazed out of the window, where the harsh sandstorm still seemed to be going on. "Is Namikaze-san…"

"Ah…I didn't have the strength to stop her," Sasuke exhaled. "She decided to continue tracking on her own…she's probably covering the desert in Kage Bunshin by now. She'll come back when she's tired."

As if on cue, the door slid open as Naruko stepped inside. Her face was a mask of grimness as she sat down heavily and without a word on the chair near Shinku's bed.

"Found Gaara," she acquiesced. "He's dead. They already extracted the Bijuu from him."

Sasuke made a pained face. "Oh," he closed his eyes. "Was he…"

"No, he probably didn't suffer," Naruko replied quietly. Her eyes then moved to stare at Sasuke's shoulder, where thick gauze covered the area of the horn. "How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine," Sasuke muttered back. "Were there…"

"No complications," Naruko's head dropped against the side of Shinku's hospital bed. "When do we leave?"

"With Kakashi and Shinku knocked out, it's up to the highest ranking shinobi to choose," Sasuke muttered. His eyes moved to Hanabi. "You're a Tokubetsu Jounin, right?"

Hanabi's eyes widened. "I…I…"

"Chibi," Naruko grumbled, "We either wait here for Kakashi-Nii and Shin-chan to wake up, or we try and bring them back to Konoha where Tsunade-Baachan can heal them. It's that simple."

Hanabi took a deep breath. "Can they survive the trip?"

"They're both stable and can be moved, provided care is taken in moving them," Sasuke eyed Naruko, who simply delivered him the middle finger while keeping her face against the bed's mattress.

"What about…summoning the Yondaime?"

"No," Naruko grumbled. "Pops was pretty clear on what I could summon him for, and that's over now. I don't want to hear him yell at me for being stupid any earlier than I need to. And he might be doing something important right now, so…"

"Coward," Sasuke coughed out, "But it actually would be a solution, if it weren't for the chakra required. The further away a seal is from the Hiraishin the more chakra is required. I know the Hokage is supplied with soldier pills of a special Akimichi brand, but they shouldn't be wasted…and we can easily reach Konoha in one day."

"Who's the coward now? You're just scared of facing Tsunade-Baachan."

"That woman is scary when angry," Sasuke grumbled.

Naruko pouted, before lifting her face and carefully moving her left hand's index finger to poke at Shinku's cheek. "Wake up Shin-chan…Chibi here is useless in making decisions."

Shinku grumbled in his sleep.

"Ohi," Naruko blinked. "Are you growling at me?"

"Loud," Shinku mumbled. His right hand coming up to the sides of his face. "What…hit me?" he muttered, keeping his eyes closed.

"Poking the cheek," Sasuke deadpanned. "I'm going to try that method on some comatose patients back in the hospital," he shook his head. "Really…why am I not surprised the Dobe's so annoying even coma patients wake up to complain?"

Naruko chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Hanabi shot out of her chair and gripped tightly the sides of the sheets' cover, her face filled with relief as she gazed at Bird's crimson eyes open up slowly. They looked around, lost in confusion for a moment. "I'm still…alive?"

"Yes, not for lack of you trying to die," Sasuke retorted, entering his medic-nin mode as he grabbed the medical chart. "Let's start off with the most basic of problems: you have at least a hundred soft tissues with untreated scarification on your entire body. You clogged your capillary system by _burning_ it. Your lungs are a miracle of nature for still being in working conditions after the amount of holes in them I had to patch up and let's not speak of the multiple organ failures you went through before your heart decided to stop working," Sasuke's voice grew heated.

"You have, or well had, broken bones and enflamed muscles…literally! What sort of _imbecile_ decides burning oneself up is a good way to fight an S-rank shinobi!? Did you have a death wish or something!? Naruko can do this shit! She'd probably be back annoying the world the next day!"

Sasuke took deep, calming breathes. "As your _personal_ doctor, because you're clearly _too stupid_ to be left with anyone else, I'm ordering you to either head for a full check-up at the hospital or to be _forced_ into doing a full check-up at the hospital." Sasuke pointed Shinku's medical chart at the tip of Shinku's nose, as if it were a kunai. "Have I made myself clear!?"

"Y-Yes!" Shinku stuttered out.

"Good! Now excuse me while I collapse for a little while on the nearby bed," and with those words, Sasuke proceeded to do just that.

Naruko blinked. "Uke-chan's scary when it comes to patients," she muttered. Her eyes then looked at Hanabi's position, and they narrowed. "Ohi, Chibi. How about you go and grab us all something to eat? I'm famished and so is Shin-chan."

Hanabi awkwardly stood, red in her face before walking outside as quickly as she could.

"Shin-chan," Naruko murmured, "How are you?"

"I feel hurt all over," Shinku replied. "Can you please not haze Hanabi? She went close to dying too today, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruko huffed. "You instead had to die," she rolled her eyes, "Really," Naruko made a little sniffle. "I was so scared you wouldn't wake up."

"Wait," Shinku frowned. "How am I still alive?"

"Chiyo," Naruko said quietly, "She used some sort of forbidden technique to bring you back to life," her hands gripped on the bed sheets, her face downcast. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"If…If I hadn't decided to use the Kyuubi but had called for help, you wouldn't have died."

"Isn't dying part of the duty?" Shinku said quietly, his eyes trailing over to the ceiling. "Is Kakashi going to make it?"

"Yeah, he's stable. The bastard has more luck than anyone else," Naruko snorted. She fidgeted for a moment. "Listen, Shin-chan…if you need a friend to talk with, I'm all ears. Uke-chan's here too if you want to get dead drunk at a bar, and…and I don't know what else to say…"

"What for?" Shinku asked back. "I…I used my last resort to fight Sasori, right? At least, that's what I understand happened between Sasuke yelling at me and you telling me I died. What's there to talk about?"

"Shin-chan? Were you already…dead when Sasori…took out that puppet?"

"That puppet? Which one?"

Naruko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was no different than pulling out a sticky band. She just had to tell it straight to him, immediately and without a fault.

"Fu is dead."

Shinku didn't reply. For a long minute, Naruko gazed at Shinku's completely emotion-free face and waited. She waited for anything ranging from denial, to shock, to anger…but when nothing came, she forced her throat to speak again.

"Shin-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Fu is…she's dead. Sasori…he used her as a puppet."

Shinku closed his eyes, before crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm…I'm going to sleep for a while."

"Shin-chan," Naruko croaked out, "You can…you can talk to me if you want to…to vent off…"

Shinku just opened his eyes once more, carefully gazing at the bright red carapace of the flesh-eating bug in his right hand. "Do you have a kunai with you?"

"Shin-chan?"

"A kunai, a shuriken," he continued quietly, "Anything sharp enough will do."

"I…you're not going to hurt yourself, right?"

"No, I won't," he replied. Naruko nodded, before palming a kunai and handing it over. Shinku simply brought the tip close to the side of where the bug was, and then _stabbed through_.

With a sickening squelch, the now dead insect came out from his hand leaving behind a small bleeding dot. He looked at the insect exhaling his last breaths on the tip of the kunai, before he threw it against the nearby wall letting it pierce the wood and stick there. He flexed his right hand a few times, and then he looked back at Naruko.

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Is Shin-chan crying right now?" Naruko asked, as Shinku's eyes gave her a soft acknowledgment.

"Yes," Inner replied.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because it hurt us," Shinku retorted. "As long as something will hurt, I'll do my best to remove it. He'll thank me eventually. Keeping up that thing, gazing at it every day…the girl is dead, time to move on. We all die one day."

"You're not going to shed a tear for her?" Naruko sniffled.

"I'm not Outer," Shinku replied. "I don't care."

"You're just like Shin-chan," Naruko shook her head, "A Shin-chan with a potty mouth."

"It's just sand in my eyes, nothing more…" Shinku wiped away the tear from his left eye. "I hate the desert. Can we go somewhere with water for our next mission?"

"The ocean? The beach? Bikinis?" Naruko suggested, trying —and failing at that— to lighten her tone of voice. "Putting sunscreen on the back of naughty girls?"

"Why not directly massaging their fronts?"

"Shin-chan…you're a pervert."

"I learned from the best."

There was a heartbeat of silence, before the door opened up as Hanabi stepped inside, carrying four tray one atop the other. She placed Sasuke's near his bed desk, before gently placing one on Shinku's lap and holding one for herself.

She gave the last one to Naruko, taking her time before handing it over.

"Ohi," Naruko frowned. "The cutlery?"

"I'm sorry Namikaze-san," Hanabi replied politely, "I didn't realize they were missing."

Naruko's eyes narrowed. "You should count yourself lucky, Chibi," she muttered, "I'll just have to use Uke-chan's until he wakes up."

Hospital food was, in a single word, disgusting.

Having to eat with a light set of sniffles and sobs in the back of his head made Inner's appetite become less and less.

"Shinku-san," Hanabi said, "I…I wanted to properly thank you for saving my life," she gripped at the hospital's pudding —the only thing renowned for being actually decent no matter the hospital tray's other contents. "If it hadn't been for you, I would have died."

"Just doing my job, rookie," Shinku replied. "There's nothing to thank me for."

"Still, it showed me there are a lot of things I still have to learn Shinku-san," Hanabi continued, fidgeting as she tried to grasp the lid.

"So I wanted to ask…if you'd…take me on…as an apprentice?" she squeaked the last bit out as the pudding's lid simply popped open with a sharp snap, sending the gooey substance to sail in the air and straight against Hanabi's face.

"Sure Rookie…but first you should learn how to actually _eat_ pudding," Shinku chuckled, grabbing a piece of paper from the bed desk and handing it over to the overly embarrassed Hanabi.

Naruko watched the scene silently, but her hands gripped her knees so tight they would have probably shattered her kneecaps, if she hadn't been made of stronger stuff.

She ground her teeth quietly. Fu was dead, Shinku was mourning, and that damn bitch thought she could worm her way in like that?

No, no, she had to be calm. It wasn't like that. She was just acting like a friend. Yes, a friend should do something to make sure his other friend didn't suffer for long.

"Ohi," Naruko said, "Why not take her in our team in place of Kakashi?" the girl continued, "I mean, he's knocked out for a while and Shin-chan here is a Jounin. You can lead us, and we can have Chibi here in our group!"

Shinku blinked.

Calmly, he looked at the ceiling. How could the man actually manage to piss him off even without doing anything on purpose? He was going to have a word with Kakashi.

"Kakashi will probably be fine by the time we're back in Konoha," Shinku retorted. "I'll take some free time in between missions to teach."

Naruko puffed her cheeks out. "Why not just add her in the team? Four is better than three and five is better than four."

"What about her old team?" Shinku retorted.

"Ah…I don't have one," Hanabi muttered. "I finished the academy early, so there wasn't one for me. I graduated to Chuunin with two older students who had yet to pass and so…I don't have a team."

"Aw…come on, Shin-chan," Naruko had meanwhile moved to grab Hanabi's shoulders and press her own right cheek against the girl's left one. "Doesn't she give off the 'wet little abandoned kitten' vibe? Come on…I know you want to take care of her," Naruko began to rub the cheeks. "Come on…"

Shinku rolled his eyes. "It's not up to me to decide. It's the Hokage."

"Oh," Naruko blinked. "Then that's settled. You're in the team Chibi. First rule of being in the team," she gripped tightly onto Hanabi's chin, forcing her to gaze straight ahead at Naruko. "_You don't betray your teammates_. Am I clear?"

"Naruko," Shinku began, but Hanabi just nodded.

"H-Hai, Namikaze-san."

"And my name is Naruko, Chibi," Naruko rolled her eyes. "You can call Sasuke 'Uke-chan' if you want, and Shin-chan here is, well, Shin-chan."

Naruko let go of Hanabi's chin, before putting her arm around her shoulders. "See, Shin-chan? Now the Chibi's with us! Oh, right, let's go into the bathroom for a moment," the two girls left the room. One outright pulled and the other following perplexed.

Shinku exhaled…and then quietly began to move his hand to steal Sasuke's pudding. The boy was still sleeping.

"You try that," Sasuke grumbled in his sleep, "And I will ask for a colonoscopy."

Shinku stilled, his lips twitching for a moment, before he returned the hand back to his lap.

Fu was dead. Outer was still crying…but he didn't much care. He felt sad because Outer felt sad, not because Fu died. He knew it was just a silly crush; really…things like the first kiss or the first date were nothing important. Many people had more than one girlfriend in the arc of their life. How many claimed to have found 'true' love, before marrying and then divorcing?

Love was utterly unneeded. He'd take the helm. Shinku couldn't mope all he wanted in the desert. They needed to do what they always did. They needed to train to become stronger. He'd look for answers. He would find ways to stand toe to toe with S-rank shinobi because…because he knew more would come, and he was not going to stand down and let them kill him.

He wasn't going to die.

He would _never_ die.

Naruko's fist cracked the wall of the bathroom, her eyes a light crimson shade as they stared deeply into the scared white ones of Hanabi.

"Let's make one thing clear, Chibi," Naruko growled. "Shin-chan's my friend. He's going through a tough time and needs some distraction. If you try, if you even think, if you even theorize for a split second you can use it as an excuse to have your way into his heart and then use him…_**I swear I will kill you**_," the last part was said without any inflexion, as Naruko removed her hand from the crack in the wall. "And I will not make it painless."

"Why…are you doing this?" Hanabi croaked out.

"I already told you. _**Shin-chan's my friend**_. He's kind-hearted and probably won't say no to you no matter what you ask…so you better _not_ ask," Naruko growled. "We can be friends, you and I…as long as you realize that if you think you can use any of us…there will be hell to pay for it. It's the first rule. You don't betray your teammates."

"U-Understood."

"Good," Naruko snorted. "Now see yourself out."

Hanabi left in a hurry, and once the door closed behind her Naruko's hands gripped the sides of the nearby sink tightly.

The girl retched, panting hard as sweat fell down her brows. "You damn…fucker," she muttered, wiping away the trickle of puke from her mouth. "I'm the one in control."

The reflection in her mirror just smiled, dark eyes and foreboding feral smile showing through.

"**Funny, because I don't care."**

"Damn fox," Naruko snarled, wincing as she held the side of her head. She'd catch some sleep. She was too tired to think properly anyway.

Hanabi had her same idea, and so in the end Shinku found himself the only one awake surrounded by soft snoring from the nearby beds.

Taking a deep breath, Inner returned to the desert of blood soaked sand.

"She's dead," Outer sniffled.

"Yeah, yeah," Inner grumbled, "Want to get dead drunk? The others are all sleeping:"

"We're on a mission. Shinobi can't drink on a mission."

Inner slammed a roundabout kick on the side of Outer's face, sending his other personality to roll in the sand. "Listen, fucker," Inner snarled. "I told you not to get involved with the girl. I told you not to care. Did you listen? No. You fucking didn't listen," he shook his head. "People die, Shinku! It's a law of nature! The only way not to suffer the pain of their loss is _**to not care**_ about them! Look around! This is a desert. It's our desert! Isn't a desert the epitome of loneliness!? We've got a nice moon, some sand, and a damn murderous beast shackled in the corner."

Outer charged, trying to slam a fist against Inner's face. Inner just avoided the blow, before grabbing Outer's head by the back and slamming him down against his other hand, closed into a fist.

Inner repeated that twice, before dropping Outer on the sand. "Pathetic. Crying will not change anything. We have to become stronger. Stronger and stronger until there's nothing that can hurt us. That's what we have to become, Shinku. So, are you with me or not!?" Inner snarled, dropping down on one knee to grip with his right hand Shinku's head, lifting it up. "Are you with me?"

"Y-Yes," Outer coughed out. "I…I got it."

"Then get out there and move," Inner growled. "The sooner we leave this place, the better."

"_Why_ is our mind a desert?" Outer muttered, carefully standing back up helped by Inner.

"A kunai comes for your head…_choose_ someone to sacrifice or die," Inner retorted. "I _know_ that answer…but do you?"

Outer opened his eyes to the outside world just as Inner smiled within his head. He carefully moved to the side of the bed, wobbling uncertainly back on his feet. He stumbled out of the room and through basically empty hallways —he suspected Sasuke had menaced to kill anyone who dared make noise near his 'patients'.

He didn't go far. He actually did reach the visitors' lounge, before one of the Kazekage's children —Kankuro— walked right up to him.

"The Kazekage would like to thank you for the service you have provided us," his voice was grim, and held no little anger within his tone.

Shinku grimaced, before giving a nod. "There is nothing to thank us for. We were too late," he acquiesced. "They had already completed the extraction of the Ichibi, and ambushed us the moment we were too far for reinforcements to arrive. On the other hand, Sasori of the red sand is no longer a threat."

"That won't bring my brother back," Kankuro snarled.

"Well, it won't bring back the Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi either, who they killed," Shinku winced as his head thrummed painfully, "And who was my girlfriend," he added with heat in his voice. "You think I feel fine about this entire mess?" he snarled back.

"No, I'm sorry," Kankuro exhaled, raising his hands in mid-air. "I…I didn't know."

"Me neither," Shinku muttered. "But…well, at least your brother has been avenged," his eyes closed for a moment. His right hand clenched painfully. "We'll be leaving as soon as our doctor decides we can move the other Jounin in our team," he looked around with a light twitch on his lips at the sight of the nurses and doctors from the hospital running for cover. Was merely referring to him enough to make them all run?

Kankuro took a step backwards.

Shinku raised an eyebrow.

A hand gripped him by the earlobe, forcefully pushing him backwards to gaze at the murderous looking Sasuke Uchiha in full-out doctor mode.

"Glad to know you value my opinion, Shinku. Now back to bed with you before I decide you need to be tied to it," with a sharp pull, and with Shinku flailing his arms in the air, Sasuke proceeded to pull him back towards his hospital room.

"First you try to eat my pudding, and then you try to leave for a walk…what next? You're going to start wearing orange? I have enough of one Dobe, I don't need another."

"I can walk on my own," Shinku retorted. Sasuke let go of his ear the next moment. They walked back into the hospital room, Sasuke's arms crossed over his chest.

"On the bed, remove your shirt."

Shinku just stared at him.

"I'm a fully qualified Medical Chuunin, if you don't remove that shirt within the next minute I will knock you out and then proceed all the same."

"Isn't that kind of…"

"Sixty seconds, fifty-nine seconds…"

Shinku obeyed immediately. He actually missed the looks of worry from the others in the room that were all at that point faking sleep, rather than actually being asleep.

Their return to Konoha happened not in the middle of the night, as he would have preferred, but straight at noon.

Naruko was carrying Kakashi on a barrow using a clone, the man either faking for an entire day of travel or actually requiring serious medical attention. "First stop, the hospital," Sasuke said.

"No," Shinku retorted. "The first stop is for us and the _real_ Naruko the Hokage's office. Naruko's clones can carry Kakashi to the hospital and then disperse."

Sasuke was about to answer back, but Shinku simply headed off towards the gate guards.

"Would you look at that! Team Seven's back?" Kotetsu stopped smiling the moment he saw Shinku's sour face. "What happened kid?"

"Hell," he retorted, he scribbled down his shinobi Id on the parchment as the one 'responsible' for letting the team in, together with his secret code to assure the guards he was the 'real' Shinku and not an imposter.

"We're in a hurry," he added afterwards as he delivered back the parchment. "Anything else?"

"No, run along then," continued Kotetsu, watching Shinku nod and then head back to his team. A moment later, they all flickered in the direction of the Hokage's tower, except for two Naruko Kage Bunshin and Kakashi, who jumped on the nearby rooftop and headed towards the hospital.

"Man, I remember that kid," Izumo said. "Little liar told me Tora died…the bastard…"

"Now, he didn't do that on purpose," Kotetsu retorted. "Kakashi was hit bad…you think we're going to hear screaming?"

"The Hokage does have powerful lungs," Izumo pointed out.

"Thank Kami we aren't guarding his door today," the Chuunin replied, crossing his arms behind his head. "Ah…wonderful peace."

The Hokage didn't yell. He patiently heard the entire story from Shinku, remaining completely quiet and with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Hanabi quietly added her version.

Sasuke said little else, and Naruko remained silent.

"Very well," Minato said. "I'll ask Tsunade how long it will take for Kakashi to return to active duty. Meanwhile, are you sure the technique Chiyo used has no ill after effects?"

Sasuke snorted. "There's nothing worse than what this imbecile did on himself, Hokage-sama."

"Not that I don't trust your skills, Sasuke," Minato continued, "But I would like Tsunade's opinion."

Sasuke didn't reply.

"Now," his hands clasped together as his elbows slid on the desk. "I did expect you to encounter strong foes. I expected you to fight them through and win so that I could prove without reason of doubt that yours was one of the strongest teams Konoha had at its disposition," he exhaled. "What I'm brought up with is instead someone who refuses to obey orders, someone who goes against the warnings of both his Hokage and teacher, and someone who needs some time with Inoichi…"

Shinku groaned. Why did he have to spend time talking to that man?

"I'm also told the Nanabi's Jinchuuriki is dead with her Bijuu extracted, thus one of Konoha's allies sold the Seven-Tails without even warning us," Minato's voice was soft, "She was a good kid," he added as an afterword. "It's a pity, but we have more pressing problems at hand…namely put, what do I do with you?"

Minato's eyes sharply locked on Naruko, who winced and looked away. "What do I do? I'm going to do absolutely nothing."

He stood up from his chair, his arms crossed behind his back. "I should have one of you stripped of his rank and another interned for at least a couple of months, but I won't," Minato continued. "Naruko…did you _learn_ the lesson? Your actions, your decisions, they actually _killed_ one of your teammates."

Naruko grimaced, her head low.

"You're going to get your ass handed over by Tsunade when she's done with you," Minato continued, gazing at Sasuke who winced, the Uchiha looking at his shoulder..

"You're not running away from Inoichi's visits. They're compulsory, especially in your case," Shinku just scoffed.

"And…well, you should always keep an eye on your surroundings," he finished towards Hanabi. "The mission will be marked as a failure. Gaara is dead and the Ichibi has been extracted by Akatsuki…at the same time, you have defeated two of its members…"

Softly, Minato continued. "Two S-rank shinobi defeated is not a small deed at all. You all will be paid, and a part will go to Sunagakure's own treasury for the death of their own shinobi," he looked out towards the village.

"Shinku, stay. The others, dismissed."

Naruko left without kicking up a fuss. Sasuke mouthed him the word 'hospital' before leaving in turn. Hanabi looked worriedly from the Hokage to Shinku and vice-versa, before walking out and closing the door softly behind her.

"You are not to engage in retaliation with Takigakure."

Shinku's eyes widened, but he said nothing. "If you will attack a Takigakure shinobi, or any of the Takigakure elders or their leader…I will have to brand you as a missing nin, Shinku," Minato continued softly.

"They sold her like an animal to the butcher!" Shinku yelled back, "What…what sort of—"

"It was their right. The Jinchuuriki are a tool of the village. They were given freely as an act of lasting peace, and since then they have always belonged to the village."

"What if it had been Naruko, then!?"

"I would have died trying to stop them," Minato retorted, "I would have saved her and escaped, or a thousand more options…but it wasn't Naruko. It was the Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi that belonged rightfully to Takigakure."

"She had a name! She…she had a life!"

"And?" Minato continued, "Will killing random people bring her back?"

"No…but…"

"It won't change anything," Minato placed both hands on Shinku's shoulders. "Shinku, listen to me. I'm not telling you not to hate. I'm telling you not to act upon your hate. I'm asking you to be the voice of reason. Your teammates both need someone to give them some sense. They were born with incredible gifts. In the future, they will become the strongest shinobi of Konoha, if not of the elemental countries as a whole. However, all that power has a heavy toll to pay. I know I'm being unfair on you. You shouldn't have to shoulder their tolls. You shouldn't have to share their burdens. You shouldn't have to suffer because of them…"

Minato inclined his head to the side. "I made a choice, five years ago. That choice has yet to prove me wrong so please, so don't let it be wrong. I'm looking in the eyes not of the scared kid of five years ago, but of a trained operative. You earned yourself a Bingo Book entry and a nickname, Demon of the Hidden Leaf…I want that shinobi to come out, now."

Shinku exhaled, his eyes hardening.

"What do you expect from me, Hokage-sama?"

"Just…keep your teammates in check, and don't be afraid to bark out orders. Your teammates will follow. I admit…I sent you in Anbu because I thought you wouldn't make the cut otherwise. The most important thing you can provide to the team isn't your strength, but your mentality. You think like a shinobi, whereas your teammates are more like giant battering rams. Keep them alive, keep yourself alive, and keep everyone's tempers under control."

"You're talking as if you're about to assign me command of the team," Shinku whitened, his skin turning pale. "You aren't. You can't…Hokage-sama, you can't!"

"Kakashi decided in case he was ever incapacitated, that it would be up to you to lead the team until he returned to active service."

"Knowing him…he'll be out of commission for months…" Shinku trembled. "I…I'm not…you can't have me lead! I'm not…"

"Did Anbu not teach you how to give orders and correctly choose which strategy to apply depending on the battlefield?"

"Yes," Shinku groaned. "That bastard! I swear if he took the blow on purpose I'm killing him and hiding his body somewhere they will never find it!"

"You'll need a third member," Minato continued, "Now…there is a list, but if you already have some preferences…"

"You want me to pick Hanabi Hyuga, because she'd be in the same team as Naruko Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha, and thus the second widest clan of Konoha would be happy once more."

Minato winced as he removed his hands from Shinku's shoulders, heading back to his desk. "Kakashi did say you caught on pretty quickly…"

"We have two minds in here…we think twice as fast," he replied with ease. "So…I have to be the team leader?"

"Technically, it's Jounin-sensei."

Shinku blinked. "No, really. It's a team of operatives. It's not a _teaching_ team."

"Two of your students are Chuunin, one is a Tokubetsu Jounin. Teams become 'operative' when the Jounin-sensei decides they are ready. Kakashi left a note —until they are all Jounin— he will not claim the team 'active'…"

"There's no difference!" Shinku groaned, "They're all old enough to think for themselves!"

"Still, that was Kakashi's decision."

Minato's lips twitched into a smile. "Being a Jounin-sensei isn't that bad, Shinku."

"I'm going to murder him in his sleep," Shinku growled. "I knew he had this bullshit ready! I knew it! I should have listened to my gut instinct and killed him, not just punch him in the stomach…" exhaling, Shinku stood to attention. "I'll take leadership of the team until Kakashi-sensei returns, Hokage-sama."

Minato grinned.

"But you'll have to pay me as an S-rank continuous mission before I even think about trying to teach anything to Sasuke or Naruko," he replied, making Minato sweat-drop.

"Now, that's not necessary…"

"Unless the mission is an S-rank, the Jounin has the right to refuse any and all missions assigned," Shinku replied. "You made the law Hokage-sama, not me."

Minato ground his teeth. "Kakashi said you were a handful…fine," he exhaled. "They'll call you 'Taichou' rather than 'sensei'. A pity…I would have liked to see Naruko's face."

"Amusing, really," Shinku deadpanned back. "If that is all…" as he turned to leave, Minato continued in a more serious tone.

"You ever thought about trying to become Hokage, Shinku?"

Shinku stopped. "No," he replied. "I wouldn't want a job like that in a thousand years."

Minato sighed. "I'm surprised, because you do seem to know what the requisites are."

Shinku turned sharply to gaze at Minato, who _winked_ back at him once, his eyes cold and stern.

"What can I say…loving the village is a must, isn't it?"

"I'm not holding you up for your medical check-up…go and have fun, before Sasuke drags you off."

He stepped outside of the tower with a serious expression, taking a few steps before reaching for the rooftops, and from there flickering off towards the hospital.

The Hokage had told him his apartment had a _bug_ problem. It meant someone had bugged his apartment, and had been hearing everything he and Naruko said to one another. It meant…well, he'd have to buy a new house.

He entered the hospital and stilled.

A man with light hair showed surprise for a moment at seeing him step inside the waiting hall, before smiling in his direction.

"Shinku," Kabuto Yakushi said, with a smile on his lips. "It's been so long!"

"Kabuto," Shinku replied with a smile of his own. "How have you been?"

They clasped hands.

Five years had passed since he left Konoha. He doubted Hibachi even remembered him…and what he needed, more than anything else, was someone _normal_ to talk with.

Therefore, he was actually glad when Kabuto recognized him. He had one more friend in Konoha.

It meant a lot.

Really a lot.

**Author's notes**

**Kakashi can be a bastard even when knocked out.**

**As you realized, there is no 'bridge' meeting or 'Yamato' upcoming…but worry not, fresh things happen.**

**You all wanted Kabuto, right? He's such a good guy, isn't he?**

**Shinku's nickname isn't original…Demon of the Hidden Leaf. Then again, Zabuza had said they were 'the same'.**

**Well…this was a nice fluffy chapter. Next chapter will be even more fluffy. You'll drown in fluff. Fluff! **

**And you know why?**

_**Because Fluff burns better.**_


	58. Tell Me The Truth Or Glaring Will Work

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Tsunade of the sannin looked at him as if he had grown a second head. On one side, it was funny. On the other, it was extremely unnerving. There was no one else in the room, albeit not for lack of trying. There were still the dents on the floor from where Sasuke had pulled Naruko out and the girl had gripped on the ground.

"How are you still alive?"

"Wonders of Anbu patchwork," Shinku retorted.

"You're not leaving this bed. You're not leaving this hospital. You're not going _anywhere_ until I have you operated and back on track."

"It's not that bad," Shinku replied feebly.

"You somehow managed to burn off your veins! And whatever technique they used on you didn't simply unclog them, but outright created new ones! That's not how it works, brat!"

"Oh," Shinku blinked. "That still doesn't sound bad."

"And let me ask you, how did you manage to _burn off your own insides_?"

"It was that or bleeding out," Shinku muttered. "Sword through the guts doesn't leave much of a choice."

"Well, you just redefined the concept of 'hard to kill' then," Tsunade grumbled. "I'll have to remove the scarification tissue and the…extra veins," she shook her head. "Probably I should stick a photo of you in a medicine book with a 'things not to do' warning."

"I'm sure they'd do it all the same," Shinku replied.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Stay right here where you are. You'll be going home tomorrow."

The moment she left, Naruko entered bawling her eyes out —she was acting as fake as a cheap actor in a trashy Z-ranked movie, of course— and her hands clasped together.

"Shin-chan! You're not going to die right!? Please don't die!"

Sasuke slammed a hand against Naruko's head, before firmly pushing Shinku down on the bed and somewhat managing to pin him under the sheets. Shinku blinked.

"Did you just change my clothes while pushing me down on the bed?"

"Years of practice," Sasuke nodded sagely.

"You tucked me in," Shinku deadpanned.

"Years of practice," the Uchiha answered again.

Shinku didn't say another word, even as the bed was pushed inside one of the 'soon to be operated' patients' rooms. "You're enjoying yourself, aren't you?" Shinku said, gazing at the twitching lips of Sasuke. The other shinobi within their beds all gazed in wonder at the entrance of Naruko and Sasuke, but didn't say a word. They were all probably listening in as much as possible anyway.

"Immensely," the Uchiha replied.

"I'm going to make you pay for this in some way," Shinku retorted. "You just wait for it."

"Shin-chan, do you need anything?" Naruko asked, having already claimed the chair next to his bed.

"No," Shinku replied. "I should have everything in the storage seals inside my armour… Where is it anyway?"

Sasuke smiled cheerfully. "I sent it to be repaired and washed."

"You removed it five minutes ago!"

"I had years of practice," Sasuke retorted calmly. "I can do this much with ease."

Shinku spluttered, before sighing. "Fine…" he looked upwards. "How about something to eat?"

"No," Sasuke firmly said, gripping Naruko by the ear. "You need to be on an empty stomach."

Shinku groaned. "Really?"

It was as Shinku groaned that the door opened once more, Hanabi walking in with limping…Yugao?

"_Yugao-sensei?_" Shinku muttered in surprise.

"Who'd have guessed," Yugao replied with the stern and gruff voice of Wolf, "That we'd be in the same team during the war and not realize it."

"You're _Wolf_?" Shinku exclaimed in disbelief.

Naruko stood up from her chair, offering it to Yugao who sat down muttering a 'thanks' to the girl. "So, you didn't even visit me once in the hospital. Scared of the big bad Wolf?"

"We were sent on an urgent S-rank, Yugao-sensei," he replied awkwardly. "I didn't even have the time to unpack."

"Dragon had all the time to come instead," Yugao retorted, before chuckling. "We still have that barbeque to eat through."

"I went ahead and offered the first round," Shinku replied, "Although it was supposed to be yours."

"Yugao-sensei, you cut your hair!" Naruko exclaimed, flailing around like a headless duck, "Why?"

"Helps against lice and is easier to clean," Yugao answered, "And you can't grab it."

"Or you can apply a henge and watch as someone else tries to grab it, falls off short and is then gutted by a sword," Shinku added.

"Like that one time near Rice Fields, the enemy jumped out of the ground and tried to grab my hair to bring a kunai up to my neck. He ended up with a kick in the groin," Yugao continued.

"I think it was Baku who stabbed at him," Shinku continued. "He didn't stop apologizing for the next hours because he hadn't seen the man."

"May he rest in peace," Yugao quietly muttered after a few seconds of silence.

"Shin-chan didn't tell us anything about his everyday Anbu work, sensei," Naruko sniffled. "We want to know!"

"Can't tell you much," Yugao rolled her eyes. "And most of it is classified anyway."

"Is there any reason why he's a canvas of scars?" Sasuke asked, pulling out his medical chart. "It's for his medical history. I'd like to know all doctors who treated him before," there was some sort of subtle threatening tone in Sasuke's voice that made it sound like those 'doctors' should have been called 'imbeciles'.

"Not every mission goes easily," Yugao replied. "I've got my fair share too, you know?"

"He's had at least five different swords stuck through his body at different times," Sasuke retorted.

"No, it was at the same time," Shinku replied calmly. "I did say I slaughtered the enemy at Paddy Fields, didn't I? I never said I won unscathed."

"Wait, the Demon of Paddy Fields was _you_?" Yugao muttered, before slamming a hand to her forehead. "I should have known."

"It's not like they told you I was 'that' Bird," Shinku replied. "And I don't like to talk about that to begin with."

"Demon? Ohi, did they nickname you 'Demon' Shin-chan?" Naruko inclined her head to the side. "Why?"

Hanabi was the one to speak quietly. "Covered in blood from head to toe, weapons sticking throughout his entire body, an enemy's head in his hand neatly severed. The Demon of Paddy Fields is a savage immortal wearing a bird mask who can't die unless his head is severed…that's what Anbu's whispers were all about," she grimaced. "They told me the story when they said I would be assigned to a team with a Bird operative. They said if I was lucky, it wouldn't be him."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked.

"Because all the other teams he was on were killed to the last man," Hanabi said. "He was the only survivor every time."

"Ah…" Shinku made a strained smile, especially when heads swivelled in his direction. "I'm tough to kill and it seems the cycle's been broken with the last assignment, right?"

Sasuke carefully moved through the medical chart, "Well, it certainly does explain everything…we've got wounds ranging from fractures to...pretty much everything else that isn't lethal," the Uchiha looked at Shinku. "Have I already told you that you're either the luckiest son of a bitch alive or the unluckiest bastard I have ever seen?"

"No," Shinku retorted. "But I'm glad to see your vocabulary got so colourful."

"Tsunade-shishou when drunk has loose lips," Sasuke remarked dryly.

"Right…" Shinku muttered, "In case I die, I want written on my slab the words 'His luck ran out in the end'."

"I doubt Tsunade of the sannin will kill you on the operating table," Sasuke retorted. "And I'll be there anyway."

Shinku exhaled, massaging the start of his nose for a moment before mumbling back. "Among other things…I've been chosen as your team leader, and henceforth Hanabi Hyuga is now part of Team Seven."

"So…S-rank missions?" Naruko's eyes shone.

"No," Shinku deadpanned.

"You won't have us do C-ranks, right?" Naruko's voice turned pleading.

"No," Shinku said, his eyes shining with happiness.

"So B and A ranks?"

"D-ranks;" Shinku finished with a heartfelt sigh of relief. "Glorious, peaceful D-ranks."

Naruko fell on the ground, her body twitching as she face-planted.

"Shin-chan!" Naruko shrieked, "You can't make us do D-ranks!"

"Weeding, painting houses," Shinku began, "Doing errands, chores, cleaning…ah," he smiled brightly. "Peace, at last…"

Naruko had foam in the corner of her mouth as she twitched on the ground. Yugao chuckled good-naturedly, while Hanabi gazed at the scene in surprise. Sasuke didn't say a word, and just shook his head.

One hour later, and Shinku began to sleep as they operated his body. There was a brief lull of quiet contemplation in his desert-like mind, and then he was awake once more.

This time, he awoke surrounded by ramen cups.

His right eyebrow twitched.

Naruko hummed contently, standing on the chair next to his bed. "Hey there, Shin-chan."

"Are you keeping an eye on me so I don't try to commit suicide?" Shinku asked calmly, his voice soft. Outside, the sun had already settled —he probably had slept through the anaesthetic.

The room he was in was a post-surgery, and he was the only one inside. "Uh-uh," Naruko nodded. "The visiting hours are over, but somebody had to stay and check on you," she giggled. "And Uke-chan had to run back home before his mother grew angry."

"You aren't going home for dinner?" Shinku asked.

"Oh, I am home," Naruko mumbled. "I'm a Kage Bunshin."

"Eating ramen?"

"I like it," the Kage Bunshin shrugged. She slurped down heavily on another one. "I've got a few cups for you too if you're hungry," the Bunshin offered. "Actually, I think they were all yours, but we know you won't be eating all of it anyway."

Shinku sighed, before taking one of the offered ramen cups. "You know, I think there are laws against bringing in outside food for patients post-surgery."

"You're not going to die from ramen," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Ramen never killed anyone."

He opened the cup, carefully starting to eat the noodles with the attached chopsticks.

"Are we really going to do D-ranks?" Naruko mumbled.

"Yes," Shinku replied. "It will give you and Sasuke time to spend with your families and make peace," he acquiesced. "While Hanabi has never done a D-rank before and there are some things I need to do in Konoha for a while anyway."

"Hey Shin-chan," Naruko murmured, "How do you do it? Growing up, that is?"

"I think it's when you realize you aren't alone in the world," Shinku replied softly, "And when you understand that your actions have consequences, not only for yourself but those around you. Growing up…I think it's coming to term with the fact that life isn't either good or bad, but just is. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you aren't…but in the end, it's all about understanding that there are other people going through life just like you and they have the same right as yourself to be there."

"I know there are other people," Naruko snorted. "But…"

"Put it this way," Shinku continued. "If I had died, back there in the desert, what would you have done?"

Naruko grimaced, looking down at her ramen cup. "I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself," she acquiesced in the end, "The reason you and Sasuke were wounded was because I didn't call my father for help, and that's…that was stupid, wasn't it?"

"Growing up is in part learning from one's mistakes and in part looking around, seeing what others do," Shinku continued. "I'm sure that, if you could wind back time, you wouldn't make the same choice as you did back then, would you?"

"Of course not," Naruko muttered. "But…you can't rewind back time."

"Then you just need to think ahead," Shinku replied. "If I do this, what is likely to happen? If I do that, what could go wrong? That's all there is to thinking and being…a grown up, I suppose…that and responsibilities."

Shinku shuddered. "Like paying taxes."

Naruko chuckled. "Shin-chan, you worry about paying taxes?"

"I live alone —I'm glad during war shinobi don't have to pay taxes, but from this year? I'll have to pick up a book or something."

Naruko frowned. "You know, you should stay with me or Uke-chan for a while. I…I don't think you should stay alone."

"Worrywart," Shinku rolled his eyes. "I'm perfectly fine."

"But that's just because you haven't realized the situation Shin-chan! What if it hits you when you're alone?"

"Then I'll get drunk," Shinku replied. "I won't slice my wrists:"

Naruko looked at Shinku for a moment, before muttering. "Promise?"

"I promise," he rolled his eyes.

"Then I'll pop up," Naruko retorted. "Unless you want me to stay?" she added with a lecherous grin. "I could read you a story about hot and stiff…"

"Sausages," Shinku deadpanned, "Yes, and I suppose lemons and watermelons would be inside, but I think you should go now," he exhaled. "Thanks for the ramen, Naruko."

"N-Not a problem, Shin-chan!"

With a puff of smoke, the Kage Bunshin disappeared.

Shinku exhaled, carefully open the second cup of ramen. He was hungry, and the ramen cups were warm. It wasn't that bad —salty as it was.

The steam from the cup slowly moved to the left.

In a flicker, Shinku slammed a fist out of the now open window and into the face of a masked shinobi.

He should have thought better about where he was.

He should have really remembered he was without tools.

He slammed his feet into the startled ninja's stomach —who was wearing a white porcelain mask now that he could see it— before flipping in mid-air and landing on the hospital's walls. He dashed downwards. The enemy ninja spun in mid-air, before opening a scroll and summoning forth a giant black bird. The animal deadened the fall, and even brought the attacker out of reach as Shinku landed in the hospital's garden.

Carefully, he flexed his hand. Hitting the mask had hurt —what sort of reinforced ceramic was it to begin with?

He quietly looked around. There was no one. He really needed a kunai.

The next morning, Naruko hummed a little catchy tune as she stepped inside Shin-chan's hospital room.

She found it empty. She knocked at the bathroom's door, but when she received no reply she simply turned towards the open window for a minute.

Calmly, Naruko walked back to the front desk. "Hey," she smiled brightly to the nurse, who smiled back.

"Namikaze-sama! What can I do for you?"

"Can you tell me if my teammate is still in the same room?" her voice was sweet. She forced herself to keep the smile.

"Just a moment," the nurse smiled. _**If the damn bitch didn't move her fat ass over and told her what she wanted to hear, she was going to snap those teeth in half with her bare hands**_.

Naruko shuddered, tapping her fingers on the counter as a way to calm down.

The aftereffects of using the Kyuubi's chakra were always like this. She just had to calm down and take deep breaths. As long as she didn't get too angry, everything was fine. With time, the impulses would go away.

"He's still in the same room, Namikaze-sama."

"Oh, really?" Naruko strained her smile, "Then can you tell me why he isn't there?"

The nurse blinked. "Maybe he went for a stroll?"

"Shin-chan doesn't do strolls," Naruko swallowed down the 'you motherfucking bitch' as much as she could. "So, where is my teammate?"

"They might have discharged him," the nurse continued, albeit this time feeling slightly uneasy. "I'll check on his doctor's list," she moved quickly away.

Naruko drummed her fingers against the counter. Shin-chan had promised he wouldn't hurt himself. He was going to keep that promise. She knew that.

Sasuke stepped inside the hospital's entrance with the utmost calm. He walked towards the counter too.

"My mother sweetly told me what she'd do if I were to disobey Tsunade-shishou's orders for four hours, followed by two hours of Tsunade-shishou herself telling me what she would do."

"Lucky you," Naruko grumbled. "My mom yelled at me for one minute, then cried for three hours."

"What are you doing at the counter?"

"They lost Shin-chan," Naruko replied calmly. "I'm deciding if I should be angry at the nurse or at the security."

"Ah, Uchiha-sama," the nurse from before returned. "We cannot seem to find the discharge of Haruno-san. Perhaps you…"

"So, a patient is missing," Sasuke said crisply. "Correct?"

"Well…yes," the nurse acquiesced.

Sasuke exhaled. "Somebody missed doing the rounds tonight?"

The nurse shook her head. "No, but Namikaze-sama here took a personal interest in remaining after visiting hours, so we didn't patrol that corridor…"

Sasuke gave Naruko a sour look, which the girl quietly returned. "It was a Kage Bunshin," she muttered.

"Which makes it any different," Sasuke hissed. "After what he went through you should have kept an eye on him anyway!"

"I…I did, but he promised he wouldn't hurt himself!"

"Then where the hell is he?"

Shinku stretched. It was probably morning, things looked good, and everything was fine. He had slept in the hospital's laundry room, using his jacket as a bed sheet. He walked out with a yawn on his face, before nearly barrelling into an orange blur that dashed in the opposite direction.

"Sorry Shin-chan! I've got to look for Shin-chan because he's— Shin-chan!" Shinku ducked, avoiding the tackle-hug that would have probably sent him on the ground.

With his jacket on, Shinku felt definitively more at ease. The Naruko in front of him popped, probably to warn the original of where he was.

He heard Naruko coming before seeing her.

"BAKAAAAAAAA!" there was a fist, a substitution with a poor log, and then splinters sailed in the air as Shinku watched from the sidelines the Kawarimi do its job.

There were tears in the corner of Naruko's eyes, "Baka!" she sniffled. "What are you doing down here, Shin-chan!? I mean! It's all the way down in the basement!"

"I was attacked after you left by an unknown shinobi," Shinku retorted. "I went to the safest place I could think of."

"The basement?"

"My jacket," he deadpanned.

"The jacket," Naruko continued. "Really?"

"The enemy left in the direction of the village. It was clear he already had an escape route ready to avoid the Anbu and the time it would take for me to get attention would have made any pursuit meaningless. So I hid in the laundry room," he shrugged.

Naruko hugged him tightly. "I'm glad," she croaked out, "I…We…we thought you had…" she sniffled, before letting go and wiping her tears away. "All right," she snarled next. "Who's the bastard?" she cracked her knuckles. "Nobody messes with my friends. You have anything on him, Shin-chan?"

"No," he shook his head. "Only that he summons birds and has a blank mask on his face," he opened and closed his hand. "It was a reinforced mask, probably steel or tempered ceramic —Anbu equipment."

Sasuke arrived a moment later, giving him a hard doctor-like glare. "I'm planning on putting you up for that colonoscopy right about now, Shinku," he exhaled. "Really! You have any idea what it means when a possible suicide-attempting patient disappears?"

Shinku rolled his eyes. "I _said_ I was fine."

"Saying and being are different things!" Sasuke actually snarled that back, before taking another calming breath. "Anyway," he muttered, "Don't tell me you went to get your jacket back from the laundry."

"I…actually did?" Shinku replied.

Sasuke emitted a strangled sound from his throat. "I can't believe this! Being stupid is contagious!" he brought both hands up in the air.

"Ohi!" Naruko exclaimed, "It's not like that! Shin-chan was attacked!"

The withering glare of Sasuke would have probably torn down a mountain.

A scathing interrogation later and Shinku found himself literally carried back into another bed. "I want a twenty-four hour watch," he could hear Sasuke bark the orders at some Uchiha police officers. "If anyone just as much manages to step inside and isn't triple checked, you'd better have another job waiting for you, understood!?"

Shinku winced. "Isn't that exaggerating a bit?"

"Nah," Naruko —one of the twenty-four Naruko Kage Bunshin— replied. "Whoever tried this shit just started a war with us, and I told you Shin-chan," her eyes flashed crimson for a moment. "_Nobody messes with my friends._"

"You realize I still have to return home after I'm free to go, right?"

"Out of the question," Sasuke said sharply. "You'll stay in the Uchiha compound for the time being."

Shinku tried to open his mouth, but Sasuke had apparently mastered the 'You even try to say no and I will personally use my words to flail you alive' gaze, because he closed his mouth immediately and nodded as quickly as he could.

On one side, he supposed he couldn't have better friends. On the other, he really didn't need to be mothered like this. He was an Anbu; he could perfectly safeguard himself no matter where he was.

All he had to remember was to keep his jacket on _all_ the time.

Really, his teammates were overreacting.

He wasn't an infirm.

"I can walk out of here on my feet," Shinku deadpanned, after the checkout told him what he already knew —that he could leave— and a nurse came in with a wheelchair. He finally had his clothes back, but the jacket's bent shape was definitively problematic.

He'd have to see Muramase-san about that. He wondered if his shop still stood.

Sasuke and Naruko flanked him the moment he left the hospital.

"Nobody is going to attack me in the middle of the day," Shinku muttered. "We're in Konoha, you know?"

"Still," Naruko crossed her arms over her chest, "What are we going to do if they harm our Shin-chan-taichou? Wait, should I call you Taichou-chan now? Or maybe Tai-chan?"

"Shin-chan is fine," Shinku grumbled out. "I pity whoever did this…he's probably being hounded by what, a small army?"

Naruko just grinned. "Oh Shin-chan, you have _no_ idea."

Danzo thrummed his fingers on the desk. He had told his operative _not_ to strike. He knew his operative _hadn't_ struck. Sai hadn't left the Root barracks, but then someone else had. To further worry him, that someone had the same techniques as Sai, meaning it had to be someone he had taught them to. The list dwindled down to literally no one…unless he also counted the dead.

But if he counted the dead…

There was _one_ possibility, of course.

It was utterly impossible —the boy had died of an incurable sickness— and his body had been disposed of —by his operatives, no less— so there really wasn't a way for him to be alive. That was unless _Orochimaru_ had taken the corpse. If the sannin had, then it meant…

It meant Orochimaru played him for a fool. He knew that the Yondaime knew of Root, but it had always been a simple 'do the interests of Konoha, and we won't have a problem with one another'.

He now had a simple choice. Either he explained to the Yondaime that no, it hadn't been one of his operatives, or he didn't. If he did explain, he'd have to explain why…showing his hand. If he didn't…he'd have to let Sai take the blame as a foreign agent, and have him try and fail.

That could potentially jumpstart a war.

The most optimal solution would be Kirigakure. They had islands that once belonged to Uzushiogakure and that hadn't been given back…but first, he needed a reason.

A reason for Kiri to try to retaliate on Konoha…Danzo's lips twitched upwards.

He had _just_ the thing.

He just needed a businessperson to die, after all.

**Author's notes**

**Guess who will make his appearance back?**

**Guess and win a digital fluffy ball of fluff!**

**Sasuke is a very scary doctor. Shinku is a miracle of patchwork. You saw Yugao. Naruko's definition of friendship borders the Yanderism.**


	59. Everyone Lives in Their Personal Madness

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The Uchiha compound was _big_. It wasn't just 'big' though. It was spacious. There were roads within it, and he suspected that it would take at least one hour of running to tour it all. The Uchiha and the Hyuga apparently competed on who had the biggest clan compound, judging by how work was going on to further expand it 'in the face of those milk-eyes'.

"You understand this is overreacting brought to a new level," Shinku deadpanned.

"You're the one who doesn't understand," Sasuke rolled his eyes. They were walking back home —Naruko had gone 'reinforce the platoon' or whatever it was that she was doing. "Look, I have a death sentence all right? I got that down since years ago. I know I'm going to die, and probably I'll never reach my forties," Sasuke muttered. "So who do you think will have to remain behind to pick up the pieces?"

"Naruko has a family, you know."

"Yes, she does. What she doesn't have and is severely lacking in are friends. It takes her months to decide if someone is trustworthy, and when she does…you know how much of a pull you could have on her?"

"I'm not going to—"

"I know. That's why you're a good friend. You never ask for anything…which means we have to force feed you," Sasuke's lips twitched upwards. "And just consider it a favour to return. When the time comes, I want to make sure you'll be there for her since I won't be."

Shinku rolled his eyes. "You're melodramatic. I'm sure they'll find a cure shifting through Orochimaru's research."

"Prepare for the worst," Sasuke retorted.

"Well, fine," Shinku crossed his arms behind his head. "Be pessimistic, but when they'll find the cure you'll be probably crying tears of joy."

"Ah…I think it's just fair for curses to rebound," Sasuke muttered back. "My brother died of a wasting disease, and I'll follow him if a bit later."

"It's just a coincidence," Shinku deadpanned. "Curses don't exist."

"Neither do Demons, do they?"

"Hey, I didn't choose my nickname!"

"Really, 'Demon of Paddy Fields'," Sasuke snorted. "If I had to get a nickname, it would be something cool like 'The Dark Reaper' or 'The Bloody Hellspawn'."

"Nine to ten, your nickname will be 'Duckbutt' or 'The Broody' if Naruko has any way to give you one."

Sasuke chuckled. "Yeah, probably."

They stepped inside the house. "I'm home!" Sasuke exclaimed, "I brought a guest!"

"Oh my," Mikoto emerged from one of the doors, wearing an apron and holding a smile on her face, "If it isn't Shinku."

"Uchiha-san," he made a polite bowing gesture. "I'm sorry to impose."

"Not a problem," Mikoto shook her head, "It's not a problem at all. Something tells me you didn't have much of a choice," she gave a passing glance at Sasuke, who snorted.

"This man here would rather risk death each night than ask for help, he's so much like the Dobe it's a wonder he's still alive," Sasuke grumbled. "Really, self-preservation should be a must for any shinobi worth his salt."

Shinku rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."

Sasuke glared at him. "Come on, we can spar in the inner dojo. I want to see how long you last this time around."

"Ouch, ruffled your feathers?" Shinku chuckled. "Wasn't I bedridden just a moment ago?"

"If you're healthy enough to joke around, you're healthy enough to get your ass kicked in the ground."

"That's clearly Naruko's bad influence on you," Shinku shook his head. "Thank you once more for your hospitality, Uchiha-san."

Mikoto waved the two of them goodbye as they headed deeper into the house.

"You have the dojo directly in the house?"

"Yes," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's practical."

"And keeps the fan girls away," Shinku added.

"That too," he grumbled. "Why it doesn't work with my room, I'll never know. I think some of the guards are paid to let some through."

"You mean you literally have girls in your room waiting for you every night?"

"Not every night, and not always girls…" Sasuke shuddered. "And it's a hefty work getting them out. Most of them are in their teens, so you can't simply send them to jail and sometimes they even do it with their parents' acknowledgment."

"Let me guess…most eligible bachelor of Konoha?"

Sasuke chuckled. "Yes, something similar to that."

Shinku shook his head with a small smile on his lips. The dojo was neat and sparkling, with the Uchiha's symbol standing brightly on the walls. There was no one else around.

"So…you're going to remove that armour?"

Shinku sighed. "It is hurting my sides just walking with it…" he carefully unlatched the sides and the front hooks, letting it drop gently in a corner. "I'll need to have it repair."

"We have a blacksmith," Sasuke remarked.

"I didn't doubt it, but I have my own —who actually made it— and he's the one I'm going to ask to repair it. So don't trash me too much, I need to have a presentable face when I go out later."

Sasuke grinned as he stretched. "Only Taijutsu, and I promise not to be too rough on your face."

"Well, then I suppose _we_ will agree not to hurt your self-esteem too much," Shinku retorted quietly, his eyes narrowing down. "Let's say…I last one minute?"

"Want to wager something on not lasting even half?"

"Not taking a wager we might lose," Shinku winked, bringing up his arms and taking position.

The two shinobi eyed each other for a split second, and then Sasuke charged ahead with an overhead swipe. Shinku lowered his body, trying for a fist in the midsection, but Sasuke sidestepped it and pushed his body down while slamming his leg against Shinku's, who jumped to avoid the blow.

Coming down with a fist, Sasuke parried the blow and then gripped tightly on the arm before slamming Shinku on the ground.

"Gah!"

"That was…ten seconds?"

Shinku held the grip on Sasuke's arm, before using it to gain momentum and slam his foot against the Uchiha's face. At least, he tried. Sasuke gripped at the foot with his other hand, before pushing Shinku's body away before the free remaining leg could attack him.

Rolling on the ground, Shinku hastily stood up.

"You know, I'm pretty sure you're going easy on me for some reason," Shinku said offhand. "Somehow, I have this image of you being easily able to hit Naruko repeatedly in the corner of my mind while she holds against the blows."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that…"

"Kakashi always said I had a good intuition," Shinku snorted. "It's more of a matter of knowing my limits and expecting the worst," he cracked his neck. "Now come on, I doubt you'd be able to liquefy my insides like one of Naruko's blows could…"

"Yeah, she hits like a train," Sasuke winced. "Once it was still bearable but now…I pity whoever makes her angry."

"At least my Kawarimi is top notch," Shinku sighed. "Where did she go anyway?"

"Where do you think she went?" Sasuke snorted, "Well, the original one at least."

"The Hokage as a minimum," Shinku said. "Well, you coming or are we taking tea and biscuits?"

Sasuke chuckled. "It's your funeral."

The Uchiha dashed across the dojo flickering in and out of sight. Shinku twisted his body, slamming his left leg behind him and missing completely the attack, which came from the right. The hit was dull on his sides, but it still connected. The next strike got him in the stomach, soon followed by a kick on his left leg and then a hold for his right arm. He ended up face down on the ground of the dojo with a sharp thud.

"This was…five seconds? Are we starting from the beginning again, Shinku?"

"Oi," Shinku snorted. "You want to demolish my self-esteem go right ahead. They tell me it works wonders for possible suicide-attempters."

"Nah, you're not going to commit suicide," Sasuke replied quietly. "I'm pretty sure at least _one_ of you would stop the other."

"Did you read my psyche evaluation?" Shinku retorted.

"Yes," Sasuke acquiesced, letting go of the hold. "As your doctor, I do have that right."

"You could have asked, you know?"

"Somehow, I thought you'd say no. Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission and be denied," Sasuke replied.

"That's…not how the saying goes."

"Sayings are relative," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Now, you're up for hitting the ground once more?"

"Oh, sure," Shinku exhaled. "I've got all day."

Muramase gazed at the entrance of his shop with a bored look. He sold good steel, he had nice profits, and everything in his shop was fine for the day. That lasted approximately until two Uchiha police officers entered and began to look at his wares with the same gaze a pissed off wife usually gives to the drunk husband.

When the Uchiha heir next stepped into his shop, he knew something was up.

Shinku held a hand to his face as he entered the shop next. "This is utterly mad. I hope you understand this is acting like a veritable lunatic."

"It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you," Sasuke retorted.

"Last time I bring you out with me," Shinku muttered. "The next, I'm taking the window."

"You do that, see how long you enjoy Konoha in high alert," Sasuke nodded back sagely.

Shinku's next words gurgled down in his throat. "_You can't do this shit! It's abuse of power!_"

"Try me," Sasuke smiled.

Shinku moved towards the counter without replying.

Muramase looked at the raven-haired man who held under his arm a very familiar object.

"It has been a while, Muramase-san," Shinku said.

Muramase blinked. "If it isn't Shinku! My, you've grown into a fine lad haven't you!? How have you been?" laughing brightly, he decided to ignore the strange situation until it went away.

"Ah, I was in Anbu for the duration of the war," Shinku replied, "And well, your armour saved my life more times than I can count."

"Glad it helped, lad! So, what's the problem?" Muramase grabbed the jacket, gazing at it with a surprised expression. "What hit you, a boulder?"

"A steel tail from a puppet," he answered. Gazing around the shop, Shinku saw the usual assortment of weaponry and armours, with a few simpler models of the 'Jacket-Armour' he wore.

"I see," Muramase hummed. "Must have been a pretty big tail…crushed your ribs, didn't it?"

"Ah, probably," Shinku shrugged, "I can't recall it vividly."

"And then it was pierced in the sides with blades of at least five inches I reckon," the blacksmith continued. "_How_ are you still alive?"

"I ask myself the same question, time and time again," Sasuke remarked from his spot, his arms crossed together.

"So, do you want it repaired?" Muramase said, "Or maybe you have some striking new idea to add more protection to it?"

"Actually," Shinku began, only for Sasuke to snort.

"Shinobi, we're shinobi. We aren't samurai. Please remember that, Shinku."

"I was thinking," Shinku continued. "What about an extra layer of armour tied to a chakra trigger? Something that you can summon or unsummon and that simply drops down when summoned and retracts when unsummoned, like a curtain."

"Please tell him no," Sasuke grumbled. "Can you imagine how stupid something like that is? It would make one hell of a noise to even walk with!"

"Uhm…you mean, something like the seals in your sleeves to summon kunai?" Muramase said with his hand to his chin.

"Yes, only instead of kunai it's steel plates. They can be magnetized to stick to the already existing underlying armour, since when they stay in storage they keep their status…"

"They would eventually demagnetize," Muramase said. "What about hooks? I can see the addition…or maybe, what if instead of plates it's spikes? Like a porcupine," the blacksmith continued. "So if somebody presses in to a close, it's a matter of letting the spikes deal with him."

"That's…that's interesting," Shinku replied, "but what about the storage seals? They'd be visible…"

"Not if it's a single linked seal," Muramase sighed. "But unfortunately I can just make simple chakra triggers. I don't have the skills to make some sort of unified storage seal linked to each of them. I'd have to outsource the sealing."

Sasuke snorted. "If you really want to continue this madness of wearing more and more armour," the Uchiha sighed in resignation, "Then don't worry about the seals. Naruko's pretty much capable of doing them and she will do them for you free of charge if you simply ask. No, she won't take offense from it and yes, she will be offended if you try to pay her for doing it and yes once more, you can offer her ramen as appropriate form of repayment."

Shinku closed his mouth.

He hadn't even talked!

"You're so easy to read," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Really, how the hell did you survive in Anbu?"

"The mask helps a lot," Shinku finally said, chuckling lightly.

"Well, I'll get the jacket repaired then…I doubt you want to change it with another, right?"

Shinku nodded. "I already emptied the pockets before, how much do I owe you?"

"Please, you're field testing new breakthroughs in shinobi armour and you brought the heir of the Uchiha clan in my shop. I should be the one paying you. By tomorrow my sales will be tripled," Muramase shrugged.

"If you're sure, Muramase-san…"

"Don't you worry kid," the blacksmith replied. "You need anything else?"

"No, I'm stocked for everything else," Shinku replied. "Thanks again," with a polite goodbye, he and Sasuke —and the bodyguards— were off.

"Are you really going to try that stuff on?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes."

"Why? Rather than looking for armour, you should train more," Sasuke retorted.

"Would you consider Kakashi an S-rank shinobi?" Shinku said with his eyes trailing after a cloud in the sky.

"Of course, why not?"

"It's not a 'why not' question," Shinku replied. "Kakashi was —and still is— a prodigy. He's twenty-seven. I'm eighteen. There's a gap that can be filled with training, patience and time, but the point is…we don't have that luxury do we? I don't have nine years to train, because I doubt the S-rank shinobi that are after Naruko will give her that time," he smiled lightly. "So yes, the armour is bulky, it's noisy, it's not at all like a shinobi…but it kept me safe in the forest of Death, it kept me alive in the war, and it kept me standing against Sasori. I need all the help I can get, Sasuke…and armour is nothing to scoff about."

Shinku hummed. "Anything else you want to say?"

"A highly trained shinobi can simply hit you in the head, Shinku. Mobility is required to be a successful shinobi, that's why armour went out of use with time."

"I know that," Shinku replied, a grimace on his face, "But everyone has his safety blanket. Kakashi once asked me what I had to fall back to when shit hit the fan," he crossed his arms over his chest. "My armour is my backup."

Sasuke gazed at the road ahead of them, exhaling. "I still say it's a stupid thing to fall back to."

"That's your opinion," with a shrug, Shinku continued to walk in silence.

Without his jacket, wearing only a black shirt and a pair of cargo pants, Shinku passed by the Yamanaka's flower shop. Sasuke looked warily from the shop to Shinku. "You're going for a mind check-up?"

"No, just buying some flowers," Shinku grumbled stepping inside, while Sasuke remained outside.

"I'll wait out here," he remarked.

Shinku closed the door behind him and smiled to himself.

Ino watched the nutcase in Sasuke's team enter through the door and frowned. There wasn't a visit planned for that specific day.

"Hello," he said, making a light smile. "I need some flowers for a few gravestones."

Ino blinked. "Of course," she said, hastily standing up from the counter. "Do you have any preferences?"

"Nope. I'm flying blind as it is," Shinku sighed.

"Lilies, snapdragons, chrysanthemums, carnations or roses are all viable options…how many gravestones?"

Shinku closed his eyes for a moment. "Thirteen…no, make that fourteen," he hastily corrected himself.

"Fourteen?" Ino raised both eyebrows, "It's going to cost you a good amount of money, you know?"

"Yes," he shrugged, "But it's fine that way."

"Aren't you in the same team as Sasuke? Did something happen during his last mission?" Ino asked, before holding down her tongue with her teeth. "Sorry, blabbing habits are hard to break. It's really not my business."

"I was conscripted in the war as Anbu," he acquiesced. "I lost many comrades during the war," he exhaled, shaking his head. "I'm just going to catch up with them."

Ino remained quiet for a moment, before breaking the awkward silence by turning to gaze at the flower selection.

"I'd say one can never be wrong with Chrysanthemums," she said, deftly picking them up. "Snapdragons and Lilies are fine too," she acquiesced.

"Uh-uh," Shinku replied.

Ino walked over to the counter, where she extracted a set of steel wire to tie together the bouquets. "You're going to carry them by hand, or you want them delivered?"

Shinku tapped the sides of his cargo pants, "Storage seal in the pockets."

"One of the benefits of having a seal master in the team, uh?"

Shinku blinked. "Wait, you're talking about Naruko here?"

Ino blinked back. "Of course, everyone knows she's practically going to take over Jiraiya's spot as seal master of Konoha anyway. Her mother's an Uzumaki, her father's Hiraishin requires Fuinjutsu…she grew up in seals since she was born. I knew she made storage seals since she was eleven…how is that surprising?"

"I simply never connected the dots," Shinku muttered back.

Ino giggled. "She doesn't seem like the type, does she?"

Shinku shrugged. "She did make me a few storage seals…I should have realized in five years she wouldn't stop to only that."

"You didn't get a chance to talk to her in five years?" Ino muttered, surprised.

"For the first two we exchanged letters, me, Sasuke and Naruko…then they simply stopped coming," he gazed at the bouquets. "There was the war going on, so…I just let things slide. Surviving the day was more important than finding out if the courier had been ambushed or not."

"Was…Was it tough?" Ino asked quietly, "I mean…being the daughter of the clan head I wasn't conscripted and all the newspaper talked about was how the war would be won with ease…but it did last five years."

"The first years were fine," Shinku whispered, gazing at the flowers. "We had support from the normal shinobi force, and we Anbu did the missions considered slightly risky…but we had backup, always. Then the normal forces pulled out the moment we captured the capital, and so it remained up to the Anbu to finish the job clearing bunkers and resistance fighters," he drummed his fingers on the counter. "We lost more men clearing up the mess in the following years than we did engaging in active warfare…but their sacrifice will be forgotten anyway, because they were nothing more than animal masks."

He ground his teeth lightly. "In the end, Anbu are a statistic on a parchment or a number on a scrap of paper…they don't even have a proper gravestone, and most of the time aren't even buried in Konoha."

He chuckled. "Still, someone has to remember them, right?"

"But you're out of Anbu now, aren't you?"

"Who knows for how long," Shinku retorted. "I might end up back in, one day," he shrugged.

"It would be on your own accord though," Ino continued, "It's not like they can conscript people into Anbu service."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," he replied, his face turning sour as his eyes darkened considerably. "If your Jounin-sensei told you it was for your own good and submitted the form with enough strings attached to have you inserted, if the Hokage had a personal interest in seeing you in Anbu," he clicked his tongue, "Let me tell you…you're free only as long as you have the _power_ to be free."

His expression lightened up the next instant, "But that's all right. In the end, _I_," there was a strain in his tone as he said that, "made a _choice_. I'll keep on living with the consequences of it until the day I die."

Ino remained quiet after that, finishing the bouquets, which Shinku swiftly stored in the storage seal. "How much do I owe you?" he asked her.

Ino said the price with a soft voice, not trusting her words to come out clearly. Shinku paid without batting an eyelid, and then waved goodbye. "See you."

"Bye," Ino muttered softly. She crossed her arms over her chest and sat back down on the stool behind the counter. She gazed at the door for a moment more, before looking at the door that led to her father's office.

"He heard you," Ino said plainly. "If I did, he did too."

Inoichi stepped out from behind the door with a slightly nervous chuckle. "Ah…I'm getting rusty in old age."

"Hey dad…what's his problem about?" Ino asked, gazing at him. "Is it Schizophrenia?"

"No," Inoichi grumbled. "In that he has me stumped. He has an _imaginary_ friend, who has a mind of his own."

Ino snorted. "That sounds like something a kid would have."

"Sometimes, when people have to grow up really fast…they keep something of their childhood with them," Inoichi replied. "And you realize I shouldn't be telling this to you."

"It's not his only problem, is it?"

"No, there's a sleuth of them and a beehive waiting to be cracked," Inoichi muttered. "But he seemed more open to your approach rather than mine," he looked at her. "You could…"

"No," Ino shook her head, grabbing her magazine and starting leisurely to flip through the pages. "My no nutcases rule still stands. I'm not going to become a therapist."

"You know he's your same age," Inoichi replied. "And it might be a good way to talk with Naruko again. Weren't the two of you friends?"

"It was a long time ago," Ino grimaced. "She…She doesn't give second chances, dad."

"Never say never," Inoichi shrugged. "I say you could do something more than stand behind the counter reading a fashion magazine or training with Shikamaru and Chouji three days out of the entire week."

"It's not my fault Shika's lazy," Ino snorted.

"Fine," Inoichi replied. "Just remember Ino," he continued, "If you change your mind, _warn me_. There are some things you should know if you do."

Ino huffed. "I'm not going to."

The problem was, Inoichi knew his daughter. He'd have to keep an eye out on his desk that night…but for the sake of a patient's wellbeing…he could go one night without sleeping.

Shinku gazed at the tall walls of the Hyuga compound. "Really," he gave a look of amusement, "Are you actually feeling so strongly against the Hyuga you feel ill at coming here?"

Sasuke turned slightly pale. "No, of course not, but really…do we have to?"

"Well, I do need to warn Hanabi about what time the meeting is tomorrow," Shinku retorted. "You can wait outside, unless you think the Hyuga are trying to kill me?"

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke snorted. "There's nothing I'm afraid of."

The other two Uchiha bodyguards begged to differ, as they suddenly felt very sick. "Uchiha-sama," one of the two pleaded.

Sasuke exhaled, "Fine! You can go," he then swiftly added as the two relieved police officers left, "Really, scaredy-cats…"

Shinku stopped in front of one of the Hyuga guards, who gazed back at him with a curious expression. It was probably because Sasuke looked extremely pained to be there.

"Look, Shinku," Sasuke said as he was about to speak to the guard, "There's something you have to promise me…"

Shinku turned to look at Sasuke, before raising an eyebrow.

"Please don't tell Naruko."

"Don't tell her what?" Shinku asked, even more perplexed than before.

"Just…promise you won't tell her."

"I…promise?"

"Good, that's good," Sasuke's relief was palpable. Still, Shinku frowned and returned to stare at the guard.

"I'm Hanabi Hyuga's captain, Shinku Haruno. I need to talk to her about the next team's meeting."

The guard actually sported a soft smile, "Of course, if Uchiha-dono vouches for you there is no problem."

"Uchiha-_dono_?" Shinku sharply turned his neck to stare at Sasuke, who fidgeted from his spot. The Uchiha nodded, and the gates opened up. Sasuke took the initiative from there, hurrying along the compound as if he knew where they had to go.

"Tell me…you're a common sight around this place, right?" Shinku stated.

"It is an idea of my father," Sasuke replied. "I have no say in the matter."

"You are an ambassador to foster improved relationships between the two clans known for being at odds with one another?"

"Something of the sort," Sasuke hastily said.

"You're discussing an arranged marriage of sorts," Shinku calmly brought a hand to his face. "And judging by your reactions, it's with someone Naruko knows and truly despises…which actually means it can be only one person."

Sasuke grabbed Shinku by the shoulder and spun him around fast, gripping him in a steel-like vice. "You can't tell her, all right?" he said in a pleading tone. "If she finds out…look, relationships are strained as they are. This is for the good of the village. I've made peace with the fact I'm going to die, I understand Naruko won't be happy about it, but if she doesn't find out until I'm dead, then she won't be able to do anything…"

The fist slammed firmly in Sasuke's stomach, taking away the air from his lungs.

Shinku slowly pulled his hand away. "You're acting like a coward," he said. "Shouldn't she know one of her friends is entering an arranged marriage with someone else?"

"She can know once everything is settled," Sasuke continued, taking a deep breath. "You know how she thinks! She'd be fully capable to barge in and stop the ceremony!"

"So you've already decided to go through with the marriage, I suppose," Shinku muttered. "And how are you going to keep it hidden from her? She has Kage Bunshin _everywhere_! This is bound to be known!"

"No," Sasuke muttered. "She never steps in the Hyuga compound and she doesn't think the Uchiha needs surveillance. She doesn't listen to gossip, because it's always false. As long as I deny it to her and don't admit it, she won't believe it…no matter who tells her the opposite."

"So…that's it then? You're bargaining your freedom away—"

"It's not like that! It's a marriage, not the end of the world!"

"And what about your pure love idea, uh!?"

"As if something like pure love could exist!" Sasuke snarled, "In the end, wasn't Fu simply using you to have someone remember her when she died!? Why else would she even care about the class' dead last!?"

He gripped at his shoulder a moment later, wincing in pain. "Gah…I…" his eyes widened as the realization of what he said sunk in. "I didn't mean to…Shinku, listen, I'm sorry…I…"

Shinku exhaled. He looked towards Sasuke with real pity.

"You know…you really should visit Inoichi at least once," he shook his head. "It would do you a world of good. I'll forward the suggestion to the Hokage's office. It's not good to keep your feelings bottled up like that."

"I didn't mean to…" Sasuke stammered out.

"Nah, it's all right," Shinku shrugged. "Destroying my self-esteem is something I've got down to an art; your words barely fazed me."

"Still…I shouldn't have…"

"Tonight I'm going to the cemetery," Shinku replied firmly, "I'll be going there _alone_. Understood?"

It was the 'guilt the other party' method…but it always worked.

Sasuke nodded quickly, exhaling in relief for the defused situation. "How do you know where Hanabi's room is anyway?" Shinku suddenly asked.

"It's near Hinata's," Sasuke replied, "But you already know why I know, don't you?"

"They're sisters?" Shinku blinked, "So she's the 'Onee-chan', uh," he turned thoughtful. "Who would have thought? Still, arranged marriages…"

"Are you done? Can't we talk about something else?"

"You mean the hole you'll have in your stomach by the time Naruko's done with you when she finds out?"

"She won't find out," Sasuke retorted hotly. "Nobody will find out. It will be a private, secret and quiet ceremony. There will be no talking of it."

"Wonderful," Shinku deadpanned. "What next? Maybe you'll marry on a moonless night without a single light? It must be the dreamed marriage of hundreds of people."

"It's a necessity," Sasuke hissed. "It's been something I knew from the very moment it was proposed! This chance is too important to waste it away! It could do or break Konoha as it is!"

"I know what necessity is," Shinku replied quietly. "It's the choice between slicing a child's throat and being discovered by the enemy patrol," he smiled. "What you're doing is simply hanging on to some instinct of self-sacrifice because you feel _guilty_ for being alive, and of resignation because you know you're going to die. You know," Shinku placed both hands in his pockets. "It's true, you and Naruko are overly obsessed protective mother hens…and really, I'm ashamed to have to walk out with both of you constantly mothering me…but that doesn't mean I can't do my own side of the deal. If you do something stupid, I will call you out on it."

He smiled. "Unless you prefer I tell you this is what you really want, and that I should start calling you Uchiha-sama?"

Sasuke just stared. "You sliced a child's throat?"

"No, of course not," Shinku snorted. "What Anbu would I be if I couldn't knock out a kid looking for bugs in a forest? Really…" he chuckled, "You keep underestimating my skills, you'll get burned one day."

"In your dreams, Shinku," Sasuke replied. They stopped walking in front of a sliding door. A wood plaque held the words 'Hanabi Hyuga' scribbled to the side of it was clearly visible.

Shinku knocked.

The door opened for a split second. It closed faster than he could blink. The sound of ruffling, stuff moving, more stuff falling, small swears, exchanged with one another until the door opened again. Hanabi Hyuga stood wearing her Tokubetsu Jounin attire and looking as battle ready as ever.

"H-Hai!" she stood to attention. "Are we heading out on a mission Taichou?"

Shinku blinked.

He inclined his head to the side. "I forgot to tell you we're taking our first mission tomorrow at seven sharp, Hokage Tower."

Shinku smiled. "Don't be late."

"Y-Yes, sir!" she bit her lips, "I-Is there any-anything else?"

"No," he shrugged. "However, you _really_ should check who's at the door with the Byakugan rather than give a peek. Had I been an assassin, I would have used the opportunity to blindside you with poisonous powder. There is no safe place in the world that cannot be breached."

Hanabi nodded quickly. "O-Of course."

"I'm the paranoid," Sasuke grumbled. "I am the paranoid one," he repeated for added clarification.

"Yes," Shinku nodded sagely. "Glad you finally understood it."

In the Hokage tower, Naruko calmly looked at her father.

Minato began to sweat.

Naruko simply kept her gaze steady.

"Is something the matter, Naruko?" Minato asked with a nervous smile on his lips.

"Say, Dad, the Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village, right?"

"Yes," Minato replied. "But I'm not ready to let go of my hat just yet."

"So…if I'm the strongest in the village, then I'll be Hokage without a fault, right?"

"The Jounin must vote on who is to become Hokage, Naruko," Minato continued.

"How many Jounin are there in Konoha?" Naruko inclined her head to the side.

"A few hundred," Minato replied.

Naruko returned to gaze at her father. "Hey dad, aren't you feeling too old for the hat?"

"All right, what's the matter Naruko? You never were so interested in getting the hat before."

"You know somebody tried to kill Shin-chan, right?"

"How could I not know? I have a very strongly worded letter from a certain Uchiha who pointed out the hospital's lack of skill in patrolling."

Minato flexed his fingers together. "How is that connected to the Hokage's hat?"

"You're going to send him away again, aren't you?"

"Again?" Minato blinked. "I didn't send him away to begin with. I—"

"Tried to keep him out of danger, I know that dad, I know," she twitched her lips in a bitter smile. "I'm not stupid…"

"How do you know that?" Minato raised an eyebrow.

"So…there's a big bad enemy in Konoha, right?" Naruko continued, ignoring her father's question.

"Naruko…"

"Who is it?" she asked. "Can you tell me who is it?"

"It's a matter of internal affairs; you shouldn't even know such a thing to begin with!"

"Yeah," she chuckled darkly. "I thought you wouldn't tell me."

She slowly stood up. "I'm done being the little star of Konoha. They want to see me smile, they'd better bring me the head of whoever tried to harm Shin-chan on a silver platter," she clenched her fists. "Nobody harms my friends, dad. They're the only ones I have," she whispered softly. "So if you know who did it, _please_…please tell me."

Minato gazed sadly at Naruko. "And then what?"

"I'll solve the problem, one way or another," Naruko continued.

"That's the reasoning of a two ryo thug, Naruko!" Minato barked out, slamming both fists on the table. "Think about the consequences!"

"Dad," Naruko muttered, "I thought about them, really. If I don't solve the situation, Shin-chan might die. If I solve the situation, he won't. What's there of difficult to understand?"

"And what about the rest of Konoha? What about the other people you will most certainly involve?"

Naruko inclined her head to the side, making a small smile. "As long as they're not Shin-chan or Uke-chan, should I really care?"

"That's the first requisite for being Hokage, Naruko! The village _must_ come first!"

"Oh," she blinked, "Then I'll become a Hokage who doesn't need that requisite," she added, holding up a cheerful and bright smile. "You know dad, you're being a hypocrite," she continued softly. "You placed yourself first rather than the village once, eighteen years ago, didn't you? Now what? I'm supposed to pay the price for it? I'm supposed to show off how good of a hero I am so the people forget what twisted mess you brought up?"

"Naruko?"

"You could have avoided making mom pregnant. You could have avoided the seal breaking. You could have avoided the Kyuubi's attack by not having me born. You didn't. You placed yourself before the village, didn't you? For someone you loved, you placed your interests before the village. Yet nobody cares about that now, do they?"

Minato clenched his fists. "You did take some intelligence from my side…your mother wouldn't even make this twisted thinking…"

"I want to know who wants to have Shin-chan killed, dad," Naruko continued. "I want to know and you will tell me, or I will find out on my own even if I have to ask everyone else."

"You're a shinobi of Konoha, and I order you to—"

"I'm NARUKO NAMIKAZE 'TTEBAYO!" Naruko screamed back, bringing up her right fist, "_AND NOBODY MESSES WITH MY FRIENDS!_"

Minato winced at the volume of the yell.

"We'll talk more about this at home, Naruko," he said firmly.

"No, we're done talking," Naruko retorted. "If you have the right to be selfish, then I want that right too," she stood up and turned to leave. "I can act like a grownup if I want," she continued quietly. "And I'm eighteen anyway…time I go live on my own."

"Nar—" and she left in a flash.

Minato brought both hands to his hair and exhaled, looking up at the ceiling of his office. Naruko had the same type of anger that Kushina had. Either he appeased it or it would just keep on boiling.

However, he couldn't let Naruko 'handle' it. How could she handle something like not knowing who in Konoha could be trusted? She could kill an 'enemy', but she couldn't differentiate. If he told her that some Anbu were probably turncoats, she might just decide to nip it in the bud and kill them all.

If he said something about Danzo, she probably would rather kill him than try to strike a deal.

This wasn't a job for children. It was a job for adults. He had to swallow the bitter pill and move on. He had acted on his needs once, and the price had been the death of the Sandaime and a toll higher than anything before. He wouldn't let such sacrifice be in vain. He would rather die himself, than let Konoha suffer through another ordeal like that one.

The sun slowly died out as the paper lamps turned on through the streets of Konoha, the colourful nightlife of the village coming out as Shinku hummed his way past a few dirty streets and towards the cemetery. He reached for the monument to the fallen, where still flowers and incense lingered freshly. The war and the toll paid still stood clearly etched in the minds of the villagers.

He carefully dropped the first bouquet of flowers. "Bear," he mumbled. "You're a stupid imbecile. You told me time and time again to keep my body low…and you couldn't do the same in the end, idiot."

He dropped the second. "Crane…next time around, run faster," he chuckled bitterly. "Stop praising your speed and train more…"

The third fell like a heavy brick. "Cat, trying to get in the pants of everyone does make you a whore, no matter how much you say you're doing it because you like it," he chuckled.

The fourth, the fifth and the sixth lightly fell. "Baku, Dog and Wolf…three shitheads I hope I'll never see again…but you did bring me out of my funk."

The seventh, the eighth and the ninth were easy once more. "Dragon, Crane and Cat…you really should have kept your lucky charms," he exhaled gazing at the sky.

The last ones were the most difficult.

The tenth stood upright. "Because you should always look around, Baku…really, trying to save a kid destined to die anyway…" he got down on his knees as he carefully deposited the eleventh. "Dog, you should have learned to duck, roll and not follow protocol," he exhaled.

"Cat…run faster damn it. I already told the other one, but you need to train more…you can't be the fastest if someone keeps catching you…" the twelfth fell with those words.

He stood up from the monument. The last two bouquets, he could hold in his hands as he walked. The civilian cemetery was nearby, and as he began to move through the rows of tombs, he kept looking ahead. The name Haruno popped up once or twice, but it was always the wrong one —really, how many 'Haruno' were there to begin with?

Finally, he found the right tomb. There were some flowers, if a bit old, laid there. He gently placed the bouquet next to them.

"Hey dad," he said softly. "I made Jounin, see? I've been a tough, kick-ass Anbu for five years now," he chuckled. "I'm awesome, if I can say so myself," he gazed at the stone. There was the usual 'beloved husband and father' line, the date of birth and death and nothing else. "I even stopped crying for every tiny little thing, you know? I mean, sure…sometimes dust goes in the eyes and whatnot but for the rest, I'm fine."

He chuckled again. "It's been five years dad," he mumbled. "I didn't even see you getting interred," he acquiesced. "I didn't see a lot of things happen…but I saw others. There's a lot I learned and now I'm even teaching…am I qualified to begin with? I'm responsible for others. Well, they are practically immortal no matter how much you look at it, but they are my responsibility," he gently stood up straight.

"It would be a pity to ruin the cemetery," he said. "How about we take this to the training ground, assassin-san?"

"You sensed my presence?" the voice asked quietly.

"No," Shinku chuckled. "But I asked to the empty air and someone replied. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you," he moved towards the exit of the cemetery. "You're of Konoha, right?"

The soft patter of footsteps reached his ears. He twisted his body and palmed the kunai in his sleeve as fast as he could. Kunai met kunai. The white porcelain mask of the assassin gazed at him lifelessly.

"You know my teammate is probably minutes away. He won't simply leave me alone at night no matter how much I can guilt trip him."

"I will make this quick."

The assassin overextended, but Shinku didn't rise to the bait. He parried, twisting his body and letting the blade come closer before gripping with his left hand at the shinobi's wrist.

"You're not going anywhere," Shinku said crisply.

"I don't need to," the assassin dropped the kunai he was holding, making Shinku's eyes widen as the other hand held tightly onto his wrist. Shinku stabbed at the man straight in the stomach, repeatedly slicing at his chest and arm…but nothing happened.

No blood gushed out.

There wasn't the scent of anything.

It was like hitting a sack of ashes.

This wasn't a Genjutsu. Unless the enemy was an Uchiha, he hadn't seen him cast anything. There just wasn't a way…

Ink letters spread across the assassin's body, glowing softly as they formed explosive seals all over his chest.

They glowed brightly.

"I didn't want to ruin the cemetery," Shinku whispered…before a slicing motion cut in half the assassin's arms. He flickered away moments before the explosion resounded in the air. There wasn't any air pressure, because the hands of the Susanoo held it tightly contained. Sasuke's right hand gripped a katana, electricity sparkling through it.

"I had my money on this happening again tonight," Sasuke grumbled. "But this is over now."

The moment the Susanoo dispersed, the limbs that still held on to Shinku's body disappeared in a cloud of ashes…that reformed.

The ashes _reformed_ the body right in front of Sasuke's eyes.

"Impossible," the Uchiha muttered. "This is…"

Shinku dashed as fast as he could to tackle Sasuke, pushing him aside as the enemy's Tanto came close to slicing through the Uchiha's face. The explosion had shattered the mask, leaving behind a perfectly smooth and expressionless face.

In the dark of the night, small nicks and veins were visible of a darker colour on the pale skin.

"What are you?" Shinku muttered.

"A lingering wraith from the past," the boy of barely fifteen spoke crisply. "I came back to haunt the living and make them repent their sins."

He raised his Tanto. "In order for that to happen, you must die."

"In your dreams," Sasuke snarled. "You won't get out of this! Nifty trick or whatever it is that you used, you won't be able to fool the sharingan twice!"

"I don't need to fool it," the assassin said plainly. "I…" then he quieted.

It was as if somebody had pulled the strings on a marionette. The body jerked for a moment, before completely turning into ashes and leaving behind a corpse in the ground.

Sasuke and Shinku stared at one another in surprise, their thoughts strangely the same.

_What_ had just happened?

**Author's notes**

**Edo Tensei is the most underrated technique ever. **

**I see many feels in this chapter and character development. As always, please do not see pairings where there are none…people might just die, you know.**


	60. In Weed-o Veritas

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty

Shinku's arms crossed behind his head as he gazed at the ceiling of the guest room. His crimson eyes closed; the smell of the lilies and the chrysanthemums of the last bouquet he hadn't delivered lingered in his nose. He had sealed that for later. There was a bed desk and a small window, while a drawer and a large dresser stood on the opposite side of the room.

He exhaled, letting his breathing even out. The sound of the creaking wood reached his ears. It was creaky on purpose from what Sasuke had told him —if someone walked normally on a creaking hallway, it meant whoever it was were simply going to the bathroom or to get a midnight snack, otherwise it meant trouble.

The creaking stopped near his room, and the door slid open. He blearily opened one eye.

Naruko made a smug grin as she plopped down on the side of his bed.

"What…are you doing?" he asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Keeping watch," she snorted back. "Or maybe I'm a wet dream. Oh Shin-chan…" she whispered sultrily, "I want your hot rod…"

"Inner would probably have a field day kicking your ass," Shinku muttered, "But since he isn't here, it means this is reality and you're actually making dirty jokes in the middle of the night," he remained quiet for a heartbeat, "While sitting at the side of my bed."

"Don't worry Shin-chan," she grinned, "with me around there's no one who'd dare try to attack you."

"You mean I can't defend myself?"

"Nah, I mean you can sleep! I'll keep watch, so you can sleep instead of just keeping your eyes closed."

He half-closed his eyes and sighed. "Really?"

"Yep, Kakashi-Nii told me it's how Anbu sleep, right? One always stays awake while the other sleeps."

"If you try anything funny," he mumbled, "I'll kick you out of the room."

She brought her right hand up to her heart, "I promise… no funny business, you can sleep at ease."

"Uh…if you promised…fine…" he yawned, before closing his eyes completely and starting to snore softly. It wasn't anything strange. He had slept with Hanabi watching over him and vice-versa for months, and frankly, after Cat's attempts at skin-ship…he wasn't fazed. He probably would never be fazed again.

Naruko just smiled at her easy victory. She carefully waited a few more minutes, until Shinku's breath totally evened out and he actually fell asleep. Quietly, she pushed herself down next to him and moved an arm around his chest. Her smile slowly disappeared.

Naruko began silently to cry, letting tears roll down her face as she pushed her face against Shinku's shoulder. She couldn't do this with Sasuke —he'd either wake up or simply push her out of the room. Sure, she could explain the situation, but she didn't want to be called _stupid_. She just wanted to cry on someone else's shoulder, without having to explain. She didn't want to be pitied.

If she wasn't strong, who else would be?

"Did you know," Shinku whispered softly, "That having two minds means one of us can stay awake while the other sleeps? It's not good for the body, but it helps a lot in case someone wants to play a prank."

"Ah," Naruko's eyes widened as he stilled, sniffling lightly, "I…"

"Cry as much as you want," Shinku muttered, "It won't change things…but it helps."

"I wasn't…Well, maybe I was but…"

She hiccupped. "It hurts. I said some mean things to dad and…and I know they were right but…"

"Truth can be mean sometimes," Shinku acquiesced. "It doesn't make it any less right."

"But…but what if my parents hate me after what I said?"

"What did you say?" Shinku retorted.

"That…That dad was selfish when he had me birthed, but couldn't let me be selfish in trying to save your life. It's not fair. When I was born, the Kyuubi…it broke free from my mother. If I hadn't been born, there wouldn't have been a Kyuubi attack. My birth is the reason everyone in the village suffered so much. My birth is the reason many died and many more cried and kept on crying for years after that."

Tears kept on falling down her cheeks, as Shinku's eyes widened in surprise at _that_ revelation. He didn't say anything. He just stared straight ahead at the ceiling, ignoring the soft and warm body pressed against his side. "I don't want to be strong," she muttered. "Why do I have to be the hero of Konoha? I'm a fake. I'm a cheap replacement. Konoha needs you, Naruko. Konoha needs you to be strong, Naruko. I don't want that. I don't want to train until I can't stand just to stand up again and begin once more. It's not…every day I trained was one day I didn't spend outside being me."

She sobbed, "I saw the world with the Kage Bunshin. It was like being in a glasshouse, having memories of other people who were me…but that also weren't. I had to be the one strong. Why couldn't the village be the one strong? Why do I have to be the one to protect it? Why not the Jounin? Why not the Hokage? I don't want the hat, but I'll take it by force if I have to…" she sniffled, "I can't lose all of my family. I can't. Please…I just don't want to be alone."

"Why…" he croaked out, his head turned to stare at the bundle of golden locks, "Why don't you tell this to Sasuke?"

"He doesn't need people breaking up on him," Naruko muttered. "He gets that already at the hospital. Uke-chan has his problems and I have mine. When he gets sad, I'll cheer him up. When I'm the one sulking, he'll do something to bring me out of my funk, but…I can't keep depending on him. He's…he's going to…" she sniffled more.

"He isn't going to die," Shinku murmured. "They'll find a cure."

"If they didn't find one by now," Naruko gripped tightly on his arm, "They probably won't find one ever."

Shinku hissed, "That's not true. They prolonged his life by two years already. Maybe they'll give him more time and then some more, until he'll live way past his sixties."

"I…I can't do anything," she croaked out, "I can fight enemies. I can kill assassins. I can protect people around me…but I can't fight this sickness. I…It's the first time _I can't fight_. I…I can just look at him and watch him die, and I can't do that. I want to do something, anything…but I can't."

"You can be there for him, you're already there for him," Shinku whispered back. "It's not useless."

"Dad killed Orochimaru," Naruko muttered. "There's…There's really no hope for a cure. I don't know what to do," her hands gripped tightly on his bedclothes, her eyes red and puffy from the tears. "Even Baachan said there was little she could do…I…"

Was she going to start again? He rolled his eyes. "Listen Naruko," he said softly. "I'll tell you the same thing three shitheads told me once. _It's no use crying_. You want to let it out, let it out…but by the end of the day, you'll have red eyes and nothing will have changed. You can keep on thinking about 'what ifs' for the rest of your life, but it will just distract you from actually _having_ a life. Life isn't fair, nobody's perfect and everyone must die in the end. There's _nothing_ else to add."

"Why aren't you even a bit sad about it?" Naruko muttered, "Why don't you…"

"Sasuke has accepted his death, Naruko," Shinku continued softly. "He understands and will welcome it when it comes. I have seen what that seal does in the latter stages, Naruko. The people were mad and screaming, foaming from their mouths and ripping themselves apart. I saw the corpses of the failed experiments. Therefore, when I see Sasuke who after five years still appears human…there were children who turned to lumps of rock after a few weeks —_a few weeks_, Naruko."

He swallowed heavily, "And they were _alive_ for most of it."

Naruko's eyes widened, her hold faltering for a moment. "Should you be telling me this?"

"Should you actually be sleeping in my bed when you said you were doing watch?" Shinku retorted calmly.

"Hey, which of the two are you?" Naruko mumbled. "You feel like Shin-chan, but you're not really Shin-chan are you?"

"People grow, things murky," Shinku retorted. "Like two trees, growing side by side, eventually the branches will intertwine. The more the mind grows strong, the more the shock dampens, the crevices become shallow holes…and in the end, we'll probably return to being 'Shinku'." He exhaled, "But I am the 'murder-happy' Shin-chan, if you prefer. Outer fell asleep."

"Can I ask you a question?" Naruko muttered. "It's a really important one."

Shinku raised an eyebrow.

"Is Shin-chan still a virgin? No, because I can't understand why I've been pressing my breasts against your sides and you aren't even the tiniest bit red or surprised or…"

Shinku chuckled. "You don't really mean this," he rolled his eyes. "I know you're teasing. I…I spent two years under nigh constant teasing from someone who was much better than you, Naruko. I am perfectly accustomed to anything you might try," he gazed at the ceiling. "And I do not feel the same things. I am here for survival. If a kunai were just about to hit me, and I had to choose between dying or letting you take the kunai," his eyes moved to stare deeply into Naruko's own. "I'd let you take it."

Naruko blinked. "You know I'd actually move by myself to catch it and…a kunai doesn't really kill me, no matter how well they might aim it."

"Oh, I know," Inner deadpanned. "Outer just likes to fidget and refuses to answer. He probably wouldn't…which is why I'm still needed."

"So," Naruko sultrily said, "You'd let little me get hit by a mean kunai?"

"You said two seconds ago you'd take it."

"Oh, Shin-chan, aren't we going a bit too fast?" Naruko smirked, "Shouldn't we use protection?"

"You know, I think I understand why Sasuke hits you in the head," Shinku deadpanned. "It is getting more and more enticing, the idea of knocking you out cold."

"Meanie," Naruko pouted, before letting go and turning to give him her back. "No copping feels, understood Shin-chan?"

"Why are you even here? Don't you have a room?" Shinku grumbled back, giving his own back to her.

Naruko just began to snore. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

It was no different from standing back to back in the middle of a damp, moist and hot swamp surrounded by mosquitoes and trying to catch some sleep.

If he had slept in a rice field in the middle of the summer with Cat half-naked cuddling up to him, he could sleep anywhere and with anyone.

The next morning, Shinku blearily opened his eyes. Calmly, he stared at the deep dark pools of pitch-black evil that seemed to spin above him.

"She decided to stand guard," Shinku mouthed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes with the death glare on. "I'm not glaring at you, Shinku. I'm glaring at her. The moment she wakes up, I want my glare to perfectly freeze her on the spot."

Naruko moaned lightly, before stretching. Shinku took the cue to roll out of the bed and flicker into the bathroom.

"GAH!" Naruko half-shrieked as Sasuke's glare scared her to death, "Are you trying to kill me, Uke-chan!?"

"There are guards patrolling the compound, the walls, the roads…and you had to stand guard?"

"I knew Shin-chan wouldn't sleep otherwise," Naruko mumbled back sheepishly, "You know, it's how Anbu sleep? They rest side by side, so they are never ambushed."

Sasuke snorted. "You just didn't want to sleep alone, right?"

Naruko smiled brightly. "You're a man after my own heart, Uke-chan," she clasped her hands together, "When are we marrying?"

Sasuke smirked, bringing both hands to the side of his body. "Never," he said holding his head up to the side with a smug grin, "You're going to die old and surrounded by cats. Maybe you'll call them all Tora to boot."

Naruko whined pitifully, "What? No fair!"

Her voice softened up as her mood turned sombre. "You know the saying 'make one hundred friends so you'll never feel lonely'?"

She gazed up towards the ceiling, "Mom used to tell me that each day I went to the academy during first year. You know, I tried hard to remember anything from the academy concerning Shin-chan. Just, you know, to think about something. I know Ami kept pushing herself on you. I know there was that bug boy Aburame who stood in a corner and had swarms flying around him sometimes. I remember there was a kid who scrapped his knee and cried for two hours. I tried to make friends with everyone…but even then, why can't I remember trying to befriend Shin-chan?"

"You probably forgot," Sasuke retorted. "He was pretty quiet back then," Sasuke turned thoughtful too.

"I spoke to Hinata too, and she was shy to begin with," Naruko snorted. "I spoke with Ino; I spoke with a lot of students…why can't I remember speaking with Shin-chan?"

"Because _you_ weren't actually _speaking_ to people," Shinku grumbled, entering the room again. "_People_ came to speak to you. I preferred reading to 'having talked with the daughter of the Yondaime' or 'oh gosh, I managed to bump into her and she smiled at me saying it was nothing'."

Shinku chuckled. "Well, what are you two doing standing there? We have a mission at seven o'clock. Hop along, or we'll be late."

"You preferred reading," Sasuke deadpanned.

Shinku blinked. "You realize first year books have pretty pictures to colour, right?"

Sasuke groaned. "Why am I trying to make sense with any of you? Why?"

"I ask myself the same question every time," Shinku nodded sagely.

Naruko began to giggle. "I do too, Uke-chan, Shin-chan," she stood up. "Time to get dressed…want to stay and peek?"

Shinku smiled brightly. "If you're offering—"

Sasuke gripped Shinku by the tip of the ear, before pulling him outside.

"I can't believe I have two lecherous perverts in the team. One wasn't enough, no, they had to corrupt the other…oh for the love of…" Sasuke kept on grumbling as Shinku simply went along.

Breakfast was a fast affair of a few toasts hastily put together with expertise by Sasuke. The Hokage's tower entrance came into view just a couple of minutes later. Shinku landed down at the same time as Sasuke and Naruko, before looking at the nearby clock.

"There's still a few minutes before seven," he muttered. "I half expected Hanabi to be here something like an hour ago," he added with a light chuckle.

Naruko's ears twitched. "So you _did_ realize she's pinning for you!"

"I'm not dense, but your mind is unsurprisingly one-tracked," Shinku exhaled. "I'm merely awesome, so of course people would take me up as their hero," he gave her a thumb-up.

"He's in a good mood today," Sasuke muttered. "Did something happen?"

"If I keep on smiling I won't have to go to Inoichi. I hope his place catches on fire before the end of the day," Shinku continued, trying the fakest smile ever.

"Never mind," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Humming, Naruko looked around.

"You're getting briefed on the mission together with the rest of us," Sasuke said firmly. "No escaping or switching with a Kage Bunshin."

Pouting, Naruko stopped looking around for escape routes.

She did smile when a few children came closer for an autograph. Sasuke sighed, giving a perplexed look towards Shinku who merely kept an eye on the clock.

It soon became seven and half, before a frazzled Hanabi arrived in a hurry. "I…I'm sorry! I…I didn't…"

"Thirty minutes late," Shinku said calmly, "Is unacceptable."

Sasuke was about to open his mouth, when he froze. When was 'being late' acceptable? He…

It was such a small thing, but…it really was nothing worth arguing over, being late or not in Konoha.

"It won't happen again!" Hanabi exclaimed, her tone remorseful.

"See that it doesn't," Shinku replied quietly. He pushed his hands in his pockets, before walking inside the lobby. They entered the Hokage's office third, after two teams already went by and then left. The Yondaime looked at them enter without saying a word. He inclined his head to the side.

"The higher ranked missions are assigned later on," he began softly.

Shinku rolled his eyes. "That's why I'm here now, Hokage-sama. I'd like a D-rank, possibly something boring, long and repetitive. Weeding a garden is fine."

Iruka sputtered from his spot nearby. "That's preposterous!" he hissed, "What are you—"

Minato just smiled, before giving him a quick nod. "We can certainly accommodate this," he moved through the folders. "Ah, here," he took out a scroll and threw it in the air, where Shinku caught it deftly. "A garden to weed should be fine."

Shinku opened the parchment and read it quickly, before nodding back sharply. "We'll take this mission, Hokage-sama."

It was as they made their way towards the garden that Hanabi blurted out once more.

"I'm sorry, really…"

"I'm not angry," Shinku deadpanned. "Being late happens. It is unacceptable, but it happens."

"Weeding a garden is going to be so much fun!" Naruko fake-exclaimed. "I think I can make a new record if I make enough Kage Bunshin…"

"No Kage Bunshin, Naruko," Shinku replied.

Naruko spluttered. "What!? Shin-chan! You were serious!? Oi! That's going to take like, forever!"

"It helps calm the mind," Shinku retorted with a small grin. "And I'm going to enjoy watching you go down on your knees and wiggle your ass as you weed, oh yes," he chuckled darkly. "This is perfect!"

Naruko carefully inched behind Sasuke. "You think they broke Shin-chan while we weren't looking?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I think he wants Kakashi to come back as fast as possible, meaning he's going to keep on making us do the D-ranks until you convince the bastard-sensei to get back up on his feet. On the sexual harassment part, I think that's your fault plain and simple."

"That's…That's abuse of power Shin-chan!" Naruko eeped out from behind Sasuke, "You can't do that!"

"The next mission will involve paint," Shinku continued, thoughtful. "Should have you undress to avoid dirtying your clothes. Hope the client has white paint, it would…"

"Ah…All right!" Naruko brought both hands up in the air, as if to surrender. "No lecherous jokes rule enforced!"

Shinku smiled brightly, as if he had just won a lottery. "I knew you'd catch up to that quickly," exhaling in relief, he began to hum as he walked down the road.

Hanabi just stared wide-eyed. The fact that Sasuke gave her a 'sorry' look and a shrug of the shoulders…in what sort of maddening team had she ended up in? And why was Bird acting like this?

He was usually so collected…

But that was in the war, wasn't it? Now, in the middle of Konoha, doing a D-rank…wasn't that simply him being…relaxed?

She shook her head slowly, gazing down at the ground. She blinked a moment later. "Wait. We're really weeding a garden? Isn't that code for killing some thugs or similar?"

Sasuke patted her on a shoulder. "Sorry kid, Shinku and weeding have a…history of happiness," the Uchiha smiled awkwardly at her. "And now that I think about it, he probably made us all a favour. I'm sure Naruko would have started the lewd jokes halfway through anyway."

"Now remember," Shinku continued as they neared the house that required weeding. "Be polite and work hard."

The old woman had a narrow escape from a heart attack when she found out _who_ was going to weed her garden, but Shinku just smiled. It was good to weed. Gripping the grass, tearing it out, making sure the roots were disposed of properly and the soil even again…there was no blood involved. There was no fighting, and nothing else to think about except how relaxing the job was.

The same thought couldn't be said for the others. Sasuke grimaced as he pulled out a root. Having dirty hands was a big no for medics. He kept on eying the water sprinklers and then back at his palms. Exhaling, he returned to taking care of the plants.

This did bring him back to that time when Fu and Shinku weeded the garden, both of them genuinely—

He sharply eyed Shinku's back. Had he done it on purpose, asking for a weeding mission? Was he trying to get him to open up? To say he wasn't happy with how things were going? He was happy. Sure, he was going to get married and he was going to die, but he was happy. He was…He was happy, wasn't he?

Naruko groaned. Normally, she'd be done in less than a second. Two hundred Kage Bunshin could weed a garden in less than a minute. Yet here she was, pulling the weeds out one by one.

The old woman had kindly offered them lemonade. It wasn't the first time this happened…but it _was_ the first time she could actually enjoy the offer _personally_. Normally, she just let a Kage Bunshin drink it. If she did, she'd end up bloated by the end of the day with all the people offering her food and drinks. Naruko gave an awkward look towards Shinku, who seemed lost in his own little world made of pulling out weeds and patting the soil.

He hummed a catchy tune, a small smile on his lips. Did he choose a mission like this one because of what she had said the night before? No, it wasn't possible. He _had_ told them he intended to get a D-rank anyway.

Hanabi looked down at her patch of assigned garden. There was nothing complicated about the job. There was nothing to take pride in. It was a simple weeding job. How could someone consider this a mission? She didn't understand. Her father would consider this a waste of time —and she was close to doing the same, if it weren't for the fact that a small part of her believed this to be a punishment for her being late.

They finished the job in two hours. Two hours of complete silence, with the occasional humming here and there and the nod at the tales of the elderly woman who seemed inclined to speak with both Sasuke and Naruko, and yet hadn't said a word to Shinku or Hanabi beyond the 'good job'.

"And come back whenever you like dearie," the old lady said, "I rarely have visits in my old age," she added softly.

"Of course Baa-chan," Naruko replied with a smile. "See ya!"

Shinku whistled with his hands in his pockets. "So, are we all relaxed and happy now?" he asked, looking back to his teammates. "Everyone feels better?"

"What…was the purpose of doing that?" Hanabi asked.

"Two hours of weeding," Shinku retorted. "We get paid one thousand ryo each for weeding a garden. You can buy four cups of ramen, or two kunai," he turned thoughtful. "Frankly, they should sell kunai cheaper."

"But we did enough missions during the war not to need money for a long time!" Hanabi exclaimed back. "Was this just a mean to waste time!?"

Shinku began to walk backwards, keeping his eyes on Hanabi. "That depends. Did you learn anything?"

"No…I don't think so," Hanabi replied, her eyes now low.

"Then it was a waste of time," Shinku nodded. "What were you thinking at while weeding?"

"About how fast it would take for me to finish," she replied.

"I think you're lying," he shrugged. "You thought about that for, maybe, five minutes. Afterwards, you began to think about how to solve your problems."

She flinched. "What?"

"Everyone has problems. What we lack is the time to _think_ about them. Work, going somewhere, needing something… they are all things that distract us from our problems and that in the end we choose to ignore them. We'd rather laze around or train for example, then try to think of how to solve a problem that lazes around in our hearts," he turned once more to look ahead. "By letting the mind wander to our doubts and fears, we take the time to think on how to solve them."

"I don't have problems," Hanabi retorted.

Shinku looked at her.

"Fifteen and in Anbu…and somehow, I doubt you wanted to enter."

"I…I enrolled of my own will."

"Kid, I'm not deaf," Shinku snorted. "No Anbu who enrols voluntarily starts _crying_ the first night away from home."

Hanabi turned crimson. "I thought you were…"

"Sleeping? Oh, you'll find out I've got very sensitive ears," Shinku chuckled. "Just know that if you have a problem…you can come and talk it over with me. I'm not suggesting either of these two as counsellors," he pointed at Naruko and Sasuke. "Because one will suggest you start reading porn and the other will probably put up something like a twenty-four hour guard…"

Both looked offended —albeit they were faking it— but said nothing as Shinku continued, "But the point is…if you can't find a solution to a problem, chances are someone else knows the solution and could help...provided you speak with that person."

Hanabi didn't say anything else, and Shinku didn't pry.

"So," Naruko took the cue to speak. "What do we do now?"

"Don't have a clue myself," Shinku retorted, "Uhm…I think I have to see Inoichi. Maybe this afternoon I'll swing by Kakashi's."

"Uhm," Naruko fidgeted. "I have nothing to do all day."

"No training?" Sasuke asked, actually surprised.

"Nope," Naruko smiled brightly. "Today I'm free! And tomorrow I'll be free again! I'm going to enjoy life for a while by tackling it up close and personal!"

"I can move the patients' schedules around for a bit," Sasuke replied. "I can accompany you if…"

"No, I want a girls only," she grabbed onto Hanabi's arm, "We'll go sightseeing shops and begin a shopping spree, and then we'll giggle like dumb girls when some ripped shirtless guy will try some stupid macho lines," she continued to speak with a half-dreamy voice. "Then we'll…"

"I have training, Namikaze-san," Hanabi murmured.

"Call me Naruko, Chibi. Naru-chan is better, but we can start with Naruko."

"N-Naruko-san, I have…"

"Only Naruko, Chibi," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Come on, don't you want an older woman's opinion on clothes? You won't catch anyone's attention if you keep wearing the same old armour…"

"I personally like to see her wearing the armour," Shinku replied with a small smile. "It suits her."

Hanabi spluttered out as her face heated up.

Naruko gave Shinku a sour look, while the boy just held up his smile. There was no way he'd let Naruko dress Hanabi up. There was no way he'd let anyone be dressed up by Naruko…except Kakashi, because Kakashi was a bastard.

Kakashi sneezed from his bed. He felt really, really sick. Well, not really sick, but more of a 'tiredness' and 'sore joints' and all those little things that made him feel weak and not ready for active duty again.

He sneezed some more. Maybe he had really caught a cold or some flu?

Oh, he hoped the flu was one of those weeklong things that had little to no complications except for a light fever and some sneezing. He really would have liked that.

A good week of peace was ahead of him…what more could he wish for?

Elsewhere, in Wave's brand new Casino, Gato's head rolled with a soft thud on the ground dirtying the expensive carpet of lion fur the man had bought a few years back. The attack had been swift, perfectly planned and executed. Nobody could have guessed the culprit hadn't Danzo-sama's orders been specific. He heard the enemy attack come, but he didn't try to avoid it.

He was a tool for Danzo-sama. He would gladly die for Danzo-sama.

A giant sword pierced through the Root operative's chest the next moment, before slicing him apart with an effortless move.

"Piece of trash," the Kirigakure shinobi snarled. The Butcher's cleaver firmly held in his right hand, the ninja moved to remove the man's mask. There, standing clearly visible beneath the mask was Konoha's leaf symbol.

He'd have to warn the Mizukage about this…and he knew his former teacher would not take this lightly.

Then again, when did Zabuza Momochi ever take things lightly?

Chojuro grimaced, placing the Butcher's Cleaver on his back. As the Mizukage, Zabuza could not wield any sword of the swordsmen of the mist…but that didn't mean anything.

One did not take the sword because it made him stronger. One took the sword when he was strong enough to wield it.

Still…if Konoha sent someone, he hoped it would have that boy, the one that had been the root of all his troubles.

The one responsible for the death of his parents.

He would slice him up, _he really would slice him up real good_.

**Author's notes**

**Wave-Arc Revamp while we move forth. What's next…oh yes, once the Eighth is 'taken'…that's how canon went wasn't it?**

**Fluffy everything.**


	61. True Friends Pick Up the Tab

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-One

The quiet desert soaked in blood welcomed Inoichi with its usual appearance. The pillars stood tall and unscathed by the wind or the gale, and yet he couldn't help but admire again the blood dripping moon. Sometimes, a few of the shinobi under his care held mindscapes resembling happy places of their childhood, libraries or things that somehow were deeply connected to them.

Whatever the desert represented, he doubted Shinku had ever seen it before. He had built the entire mindscape on his subconscious. He hadn't taken an image of the Konoha's library, but had built the desert. Each grain of blood-soaked sand Shinku placed with the utmost care meant a mental fortitude unlike any before. The fact he could actually fight off the Yamanaka's clan technique of mind diving…

It was something worth of looking out for…especially if it complicated the therapy. The rest of the war memories passed by him, and finally Inoichi nodded and returned to the real world together with Shinku.

"So, tell me," Inoichi said softly, gazing from his side of the desk the boy. "What do you want to talk about?"

"If I say 'nothing' does this end?" Shinku replied, a small smile on his face.

"I cannot help you if you do not wish to be helped," Inoichi replied. "Therapy is effective provided both sides help each other."

"Does that line really work? What if I told you I'm helping myself out fine and that I don't need your help?"

"You have nothing you wish to speak about? You recently lost a person you cherished, didn't you? Aren't you angry, sad, in grief?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you blame yourself, the Hokage, or someone else?"

"I'm fine," Shinku replied once more.

Inoichi frowned.

"Don't you feel you could have done something to change the outcome? Don't you feel…"

"I said I'm fine, Yamanaka-san," Shinku continued, clasping his hands together and looking thoughtful. "I do not blame anyone. It happened. It could not be prevented."

"Very well," Inoichi murmured. "You may go. Do put up an appointment for another month with my daughter."

Shinku nodded, and left the room quietly. He reached for the counter, gazing with a raised eyebrow at Ino's apparent change of wardrobe. She wore a white tank top. He wasn't going to peek over and see if she had a mini skirt or something, but she was wearing a white tank top. Normally, her tank top was purple. He remembered her having a purple one when he had entered, so she had changed just recently too.

There also was the light smell of lavender in the air, and her skin appeared slightly wet.

"Promise not to laugh," Ino muttered.

He gave a hesitant nod.

"I tripped and fell in the fertilizer," she grumbled. "Urgh…I keep telling dad to move it, but does he move it? No, it's fine where it is! Therefore, when you trip down the stairs for the greenhouse, you get a nice dump of shit rather than a broken neck."

Shinku's lips twitched upwards. "Maybe you need better shoes."

"I have a lot of shoes, mister," Ino crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't need better shoes. I need the fertilizer pile moved."

"Make it a D-rank for the Hokage tower," Shinku replied. "I'm sure some kid would enjoy pushing shovels of dung elsewhere. I mean, isn't that the dream of the new generation?"

Ino shook her head slowly. "My team and I once had to go in the countryside and clean up a farmhouse. There was a pile of manure as tall as Chouji, and Shika lazy as he was decided he'd ditch the job. It was me and Chouji…well, mostly Chouji and I ranting about how Shika was sleeping somewhere."

She shuddered, "Never again. I would never make another kid suffer through that."

Shinku snorted. "I'm sure there are a thousand other demeaning jobs the little Genin can do."

"You know, I have to ask. Is it true you made the princess go on a D-rank again? It's the talk of all of Konoha."

Shinku raised an eyebrow. "We did a D-rank just this morning. Do all the news travel this fast?"

"Anything concerning the Yondaime's daughter or the Uchiha heir does. You're not going to become popular if you're seen making them work like Genin."

"I'm not inclined in becoming popular," Shinku shrugged. "I thought a D-rank was just what they needed to cool off, and that's all," he chuckled. "If Konoha's villagers find it demeaning it's their decision."

"I'm just saying you really should look around yourself a bit more," Ino continued, "There might be—"

The door of the shop jingled open with a light bell ring, before a young woman in her eighteens stepped inside. She was wearing a loose, but long shirt and a pair of baggy trousers. Her brown hair seemed to fall in curls on her back, and she seemed a regular judging by how she moved with expertise through the aisles.

"Hey Ino," the woman said, waving a hand in hello.

"Just a moment Ami," Ino replied, waving back.

Ami remained a bit behind, humming to herself as she looked through the flowers.

"Next month on Monday is fine?" Ino asked Shinku in a small whisper, which the boy answered with a nod.

"I'll see you later then," Shinku added, turning to leave and waving. "Bye!"

The moment he stepped outside, Ino mentally groaned. Ami zeroed on her with the speed of a shark smelling blood in the water.

"So," the girl smiled brightly. "Who's the guy? Given up on Sasuke?"

Ino exhaled. "He's just a regular, Ami. He came by to buy flowers for his dead teammates," she continued.

"Uh-uh, if you say so," Ami replied with a small smirk. "Why are you wearing the battle-white then?"

Ino sputtered. "It's not battle white!"

"Yes, yes," her friend continued, "Of course not. Where's the bra then?"

"The…bra?" Ino carefully gazed downwards, before turning a deep crimson shade. "Ah… I… Gah… he… I… I forgot!"

"Fine," Ami brought both elbows on the counter, "I have this juicy news that a friend of a friend told me. You know the princess? They saw her enter a hospital room way after visiting hours were done, and guess what? Few days later she left the Hokage's mansion…this smells like a scandal, doesn't it?"

Ino blinked, before smiling and pulling herself closer to listen better. "Tell me more about this…I've got to hear this."

Shinku hummed. The sky was bright. The clouds sailed across the infinite blue with little to no troubles. The ground crunched under his feet. The Konoha hospital came into view, the doors sliding to the sides as he stepped through.

Walking upstairs, he easily reached Kakashi's room without anyone stopping him. Really, Sasuke had said security was lax, but he didn't think it would be this easy. Kakashi was peacefully snoring, every now and then emitting a little cough.

"You're acting as the fakest of fakes," Shinku deadpanned as he took a seat next to his teacher. "You mind if we talk eye to eye?"

Kakashi wheezed out for just a second more, before swiftly flicking the headband up to stare at Shinku's eyes with his sharingan. The next moment, Shinku's head was down as if asleep and the headband was back in place.

The hospital room perfectly replicated, Shinku admired it for just a moment. It was a Sharingan-related Genjutsu rather than a real place, but it even had the small blotches of spilled coffee in a corner of the room.

"So!" Kakashi said with his usual carefree voice. "I'm really sick, and I need to conserve my chakra…"

"My apartment has a bug problem," Shinku retorted. "I don't know about my clothes or my armour. I assume you know because the Yondaime knows, and the reason he told me is that it's something concerning the internal Konoha security. Now, from what I can guess, I think there's someone within the clans —or maybe within the upper echelons of Konoha's Jounin ring— that is assigned to the domestic problems. They don't see eye to eye with one another, and hence the reason the Yondaime hinted at the bugs rather than say it plainly."

Kakashi hung his head as his shoulders shook.

"Are you sure you're not part-Nara?"

"Sure," Shinku quipped. "I'm just very paranoid, pessimistic and was pretty sure life would screw me over majestically in one way or another…and I had a long time thinking over it."

Kakashi sighed. "Very well…I'll keep this short. The Anbu are loyal to the Hokage, the Uchiha take care of the general day-to-day crime. What of the in-clan crimes however? If the Anbu or the Uchiha did so, it would clearly seem biased, wouldn't it? So, when somebody becomes a problem…they are sent on a mission and then executed. This is something the Yondaime doesn't know…officially. Unofficially, troublemakers are taken care of before they can start making trouble for the village."

"And the person who does this is someone highly respected, because otherwise it would be easier to simply let the Hokage take care of it."

"Right once more," Kakashi muttered. "After the war, the Kyuubi attack and everything else…sensei, the Yondaime…he was busy. He didn't have the time to check everything. He was only one man, and so…"

"So someone else took care of removing obstacles and making it a smoother sailing for Konoha to regain its bearings. Once it did however, the man or woman chose to remain in his seat of power…and that's where the story leaves us, right?"

"You deserve a cookie," Kakashi nodded sagely. "I don't have a cookie."

"I don't need a cookie…I need something to fall back to," Shinku chuckled. "Always have a backup of a backup of a backup…"

Kakashi hummed, "Well, I _should_ give you something…ah, I know…"

The Genjutsu continued, albeit it now showed the hand seals required for a technique of sorts on a nearby wall. "You should try summoning," the silver-haired Jounin remarked. "It's not something for everyone, and you might simply end up completely out of scope but…you could try to learn the summoning technique."

"Summoning?" Shinku inclined his head to the side. "But it's…ah, I see," he grimaced, "Another one of those 'do or die' things."

"Exactly," Kakashi nodded. "If you're lucky, you might end up with the summonses that hold a contract within Konoha…if you're unlucky, they might kill you, eat you, or capture you for their own contract holders."

"Basically, you aren't giving me any contracts…you're forcing me to summon?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied with a carefree tone. "Think about it: worst case scenario, you die. Best case scenario, you get hold of a summon contract."

"Average case scenario, the summoning simply doesn't work," Shinku retorted. "There are people who can't summon, no matter what they try…unless they sign an animal's contract."

Kakashi chuckled. "If you can't, then I'll let you sign mine," he muttered. "You should think positive Shinku! You'll probably end up eaten."

"Funny," Shinku said. "Anything else I should know?"

"Signing a contract means that the creature-clan would be able to summon you at any moment to their home. And by any moment, I mean it. At the same time, it's a nifty escape trick."

"Now that's actually an interesting bit of information."

"Of course, the chakra requirement…you'd need at least a few more years under your belt before managing to summon off the boss summon. That is, if you manage to actually get them to let you sign the contract."

Shinku stood up from the chair, gazing at Kakashi's eye. "All right, sensei," he looked towards the door. "You didn't tell me the name however."

"You really want a name, my cute little soldier?" Kakashi replied. "You understand, if you tell Naruko…"

"Ah…a conundrum," Shinku smiled. "If you tell me the name, it means you trust me not to tell Naruko. At the same time, if you taught me well you know I would tell her and Sasuke," the door of the Genjutsu-built room barged open, as Inner walked in with a small smile.

"Guess it works," Inner chuckled. "Takes more time, but it works," he flexed his fingers. "It seems real enough too."

"Mah, mah," Kakashi chuckled. "Experimenting without even telling me…my cute little Genin turned Anbu…"

Inner cracked his knuckles. "The name."

"I agree," Outer acquiesced. "The name."

Kakashi smiled.

"Very well…guess I'll play along," the silver-haired Jounin moved the bedclothes to the side, carefully standing up in the Genjutsu-built illusion. "But what good will it do knowing it?"

"I suppose we'll just know who to fight," Shinku shrugged.

"Danzo Shimura," Kakashi's voice came out softly. "He comes from a renowned clan who greatly helped Konoha during the wars. He was the right handed man of the third Hokage, and the inner 'police' he commands is called Root."

The Genjutsu shattered away.

Kakashi hummed. "And that's where I keep…my porn stash…" he wheezed out. "Please…don't tell anyone else."

Shinku rolled his eyes. "I won't," he stood up from the 'real' chair. "I'll bring it to you, sensei," he added softly. "No man should be separated from his porn for so long."

There were veritable tears of joy in Kakashi's eyes. "My little student…sniffle…" the eyes of the silver-haired Jounin shone with pride. Carefully, he made a little thumb-up gesture. "I…taught you well…"

"You have nothing to fear," Shinku nodded with his lips twitching in a smile. "Come high water or a hurricane, I will bring to you the holy object that is Icha-Icha."

Kakashi nearly decided to wave a small handkerchief in goodbye as Shinku left. On the other hand, Shinku felt the need to retch. The problem remained, but now it had a name.

"Shinku!" a male voice exclaimed, making him turn around and smile at the source of it. Kabuto neared him, speeding up his pace to catch up. "What brings you here? A check-up?"

"Nothing of the sort," he replied, shaking his head. "Just went to visit my sensei," he inclined his head pointing towards the corridor he had come from. "I needed some counsel on a few things."

"I see," Kabuto acquiesced. "Anything I might help you on?"

"Unless you know of some mean to become as strong as an S-rank shinobi in little time, I doubt it," Shinku snorted back.

Kabuto grimaced. "If there are methods then they're probably not only prohibited, but also extremely dangerous, Shinku. I wouldn't suggest any of them lightly."

"Thought so," he mumbled. "You know, I recall you and I never fought one another during the tournament," he turned thoughtful. "I wonder who would have won back then."

Kabuto shrugged. "Probably I would have. You were beaten up pretty badly if I remember correctly," the medic-nin began to walk alongside Shinku. "You up for some Takoyaki? We can reminisce about the past while eating something —I've just finished my shift and I'm starving."

"Sure," Shinku replied. "You know a good place?"

"It's close by," Kabuto said. "Don't know if you'll like the taste, but it's passable."

Shinku nodded back. He'd try the summoning down in Kakashi's secret hideout. He knew by heart that his sensei was exaggerating the threats just to make sure he would have the courage to pull through. If Kakashi didn't menace him with death at least once, he wasn't happy.

Naruko Namikaze walked down the street, her hands in her pockets. "So, Chibi," she said half-heartedly. "What do you do in your free time?"

"Ah…I have no free time, Nam—" Naruko glared at her, "Naruko-san."

"You too, uh?" the blond haired girl crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you think girls our age do for fun at this time of the day?"

"Shopping?" Hanabi hazarded.

"We did that already…it's boring," Naruko grumbled. "What's the purpose of trying on clothes after clothes anyway?"

"I don't know," Hanabi quietly said. "Then…should we train?"

"I don't wanna," Naruko replied with a pout. "Come on, think of something funny. I'm sure Shin-chan or Uke-chan would have already come up with something."

"Maybe we could…go in a bar?"

Hanabi bit her tongue the next moment, as Naruko's eyes shone. "Oh yes, that's an excellent idea Chibi!"

She felt herself gripped. "We can go bar hopping!"

They began to hurry along the street for a short while, before Naruko halted. "Do you know a bar?"

"No."

Naruko's head hung down from her shoulders. "Really! Where do we go now?"

They began to walk at a more leisured pace, the Yondaime's daughter looking around half-bored while Hanabi just followed without saying a word. The people looked at them pass by, but didn't move closer. The reason was simple. Naruko wasn't smiling or waving at anyone. She actually growled a couple of times when a Naruko-tan fan tried to move closer for an autograph.

Hanabi looked at the nearby shops, before finding something useful. "Oh…we could go there," saying that, she pointed at a teahouse.

"Afternoon tea? Why not," shrugging, Naruko took point as they stepped inside. Sitting down at the —obviously— best table, the waiters literally fought over whom to serve them until they all agreed to bring 'one of everything'.

Naruko sighed in relief as they was finally left her alone with Hanabi —convincing the waiters to disappear from her sight without outright offending them was difficult, but not impossible.

Hanabi's eyes were wide as she gazed at the vast assortment of teas and sweets in front of her. The smell of the tea leafs mixed with the aroma of bergamot, strawberry and everything else that composed one type of sweet or another.

"So," Naruko hummed. "What should we talk about?"

"The weather is…a polite conversation starter," Hanabi replied awkwardly.

"It's sunny," Naruko replied, "Perfect weather for training…and we are not going to train today."

"Y-You think it will start raining tomorrow?" Hanabi asked.

"Chibi, come on," Naruko rolled her eyes. "Try to relax. I'm not going to rip your limbs off," she chuckled.

"Ah…yes?" Hanabi nervously made a small smile. "I'm not very used to small talk," she fidgeted.

The two apparently grimaced at the same time. "Well, what's your favourite colour?" Naruko asked, having caught a flash of insight.

"I like soft yellow," Hanabi murmured, "And purple."

"Yellow and purple?" Naruko's right eyebrow twitched. "I like orange and black 'ttebayo! How are you supposed to make those two colours mix together?"

Hanabi pouted. "Orange is a horrible colour for a ninja."

"Orange is the fashion of the time!"

"That's just because you're the one wearing it," Hanabi deadpanned.

"So if I wore yellow and purple it would come into fashion?" Naruko asked, taking a sip from the tea. Hanabi munched down on a banana split, nodding her head.

"Yes," Hanabi nodded.

Naruko thoughtfully took another sip. "I want to know, Chibi…what do you like in Shin-chan?"

Hanabi sputtered. "Wh-What?"

"Now, now," Naruko smiled. "We're between girls here, and whatever you say I promise not to tell. Therefore, you need to tell me what you like in Shin-chan."

"I don't like Shinku-san that way, Naruko-san…I consider him a trusted and knowledgeable mentor, but I don't…"

"You're turning red with each word you say," Naruko hummed. "So, is he your first crush?"

Hanabi quieted down, holding her hands against her knees and gazing downwards.

"I'm sorry for what I said before," Naruko whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you that much," she grimaced. "After using the Kyuubi, I end up being a bit jumpy and…angry for a while. I'm not saying you can't fall in love with Shin-chan…but you should leave him the space to grieve properly. You're just going to get hurt if you end up being the rebound girl —at least, that's what Icha-Icha says concerning rebound."

Naruko's lips twitched in a smile. "And maybe if yours is just a silly crush, it will pass with time. You're still young, Chibi. Plenty of time to fall in love again," she softly looked at the Hyuga while trying her best 'old and wise' imitation of a 'woman of the world'.

"I know I'm young and inexperienced," Hanabi whispered, "but I'll train hard and do my best. Yet…what I have in here," she brought a hand to her chest, "I don't know but…but it skips a beat every time I look…"

"Oh…" Naruko's smile turned lecherous. "Every time you _look_, uh?" she chuckled, "So…is Shin-chan packed or something?"

Hanabi glared in Naruko's direction. "I would never—"

"Come off the high horse, I'm sure you did check," Naruko retorted dryly. "So? How long? How big? Is he a hung like a horse or…"

"I can't believe I'm having such a lewd conversation," Hanabi mumbled in disbelief. "And why are you interested anyway?"

"Because I don't have the Byakugan," Naruko pouted. "And I know my godfather would kill for those eyes…they're like, godhood-tier peeping tools. You can peep from miles away, in every direction! I'm sure you can tell me where Shin-chan and Uke-chan are right this moment."

Hanabi bit her lips. "I would not use the Byakugan for such a thing. Further the range is increased, higher the strain on the shinobi…it can give off powerful migraines if one tries to concentrate hard through a giant village like Konoha to find a specific person."

"You know what? Screw what Shin-chan said," Naruko fist-pumped. "We're going shopping for clothes, and then we're going to dress up for the kill!"

"Shouldn't we shop for kunai if we're going to kill someone?" Hanabi quietly asked, her voice perplexed.

Naruko sighed. "Don't worry, Chibi. Let Naruko-Oneesan take care of everything," she grinned. "We'll find you a nice guy —who isn't Shin-chan— and you'll be happy and set. Maybe someone your age will do…uhm, how hard will it be?"

"Why not Shinku-san?"

"Duh, he's still sad for Fu's death."

"He…He doesn't appear sad to me," she acquiesced.

"Some things, Chibi," Naruko muttered, "You just don't see them. You need to hear them. I mean, I would be sad for Fu's death. I'm still sad, but…you were there, weren't you? So you saw how he reacted…I mean, Uke-chan told me but…you think someone just stands up fine after something like that?"

"Shinku-san is extremely resilient;" Hanabi retorted hotly. "There is little that fazes him."

"Even statues cry when the rain falls," Naruko whispered. "As his teammate…no, as his teammates, it is our duty to make sure he doesn't crack. Listen Chibi…you don't know Shin-chan as long as I or Uke-chan do. I mean, I'm sure you have the image of him being some tough and strong shinobi, but…" Naruko actually grimaced as she said the following words.

"But he's _weak_. I don't mean he isn't strong uh! I'm sure he'd kick anyone's ass, but he…he's frail. Glass cuts deeply, but it still shatters with ease. Shin-chan's made of glass, Chibi. As long as the enemy keeps hitting the edge, they're the one who are going to bleed but…but if they hit him on the sides, he'll shatter. And someone's bound to get hurt trying to piece him back together."

Naruko made a bitter smile. "Guess that's going to be us when the time comes."

Hanabi didn't reply. She just gave a quiet bite to a cream covered banana, not trusting her voice.

Minato Namikaze stared at the parchment. He couldn't believe what he was reading. He clenched it, his hands twitching for a moment as he closed his eyes. The Mizukage demanded satisfaction. Zabuza Momochi wanted a meeting in the land of Waves between a very specific team and one of his own.

The request was very simple. Zabuza wanted an explanation, and he wanted it through a simple exchange of tokens of good will. Namely put, he wanted a friendly spar to occur between one of the members of his team and one of the members of the other team.

The subtle message was perfectly clear.

Kiri's reasoning had always been 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'. Someone had killed a man who was beneficial to Kirigakure, and whereas it was but a businessperson…someone wearing a Konoha headband had done it. Sure, it was as clear as the day that the action meant to pin the blame on Konoha…but at the same time, it really could have been a Konoha shinobi sent on that specific mission.

Kiri wanted blood for blood.

He wasn't going to let that happen, but the way it all was rushed…Kiri really wanted to expand on the mainland, it had been clear with Wave and now after five years they practically owned the land.

He had no doubt the invitation to 'christen the newly built arena within Wave's new casino' was nothing more than a 'send me the sacrificial lamb to fight and die, or prepare for war'.

What was the interest in that boy in particular, Minato really didn't know.

What he knew was that, once more, things were going down south.

Takoyaki were good. Speaking with Kabuto was good too. He was normal at least. It was a normal talk over something trivial like patching up a broken bone —it was grime and blood-filled conversation for lunch, but it was normal!

Konoha apparently had a new cinema in place of a grocery shop. A few meat shops had closed and a couple of new Tofu shops had opened. Ichiraku had expanded from a stall to a building. The village had apparently rebuilt the fallen houses of the siege with wider apartment complexes. The war hadn't taken much of a toll, it had even seemed like a mere afterthought to the civilian population.

It was when sake landed up in front of Shinku as the after-lunch digestive, that he took a heavy gulp of the stuff and grumbled. "I risked my life in there," he grumbled. "Trudging through the mud, crawling in the water," he gazed down at the counter. "And you're telling me people here just thought it was an easy thing?"

He drummed on his counter. "It was easy. I admit it…it is damn easy, when you outnumber the enemy five to one, but then they pulled back. They said they had enough of the war," Shinku gazed at the cup. "They wanted it to end. Therefore, they pulled back and left the Anbu alone to solve the shit. Who better than the Anbu to clean up the last remnants of Orochimaru's shit?" Shinku chuckled grimly. "Turns out, Orochimaru's shit has sharp fangs and is really ugly."

Kabuto didn't say anything, but simply watched as Shinku drank another glass. "You know," he muttered. "I can't help but believe…really, I can't help but think they tried to kill me during the war," Shinku chuckled. "I mean, how screwed up can I be? All of the teams I was in…they ended up slaughtered. False information, ambushes…" snorting, Shinku filled his cup for the third glass.

"And I've had my fill, really. Why am I still hanging around? I could drop this, get a job as a teacher somewhere but then…then I remember that I'm just a sort of loose string. I'm not really…I mean, I'm not really needed. Just leave the job to my teammates. What I did…it's meaningless. You know?" he chuckled, his voice cracked. "What the hell did I fight for, when we could have sent Naruko to the battlefield and be done with it in five minutes?" he snickered, "Why the hell wasn't there even a single Uchiha on the frontline? I mean…we had to do the shitty jobs," he slammed a fist against his chest. "We…the guys without Doujutsu, powers or anything else…we normal human beings…they sent us there, expecting us to do the job and do it well…"

Kabuto sympathetically smiled. "I think you had enough…"

"Want to know of what I had enough?" Shinku growled lightly. "Of being manhandled, sent right or left like some sort of horse with…with those things to cover the eyes of the beasts."

"Those are blinders," Kabuto said quietly.

"Yeah, and all for what?" Shinku grumbled. "I get it, I get it…Konoha was built by the clans, but there aren't only the clans…" he clenched his fists. "There are people like Bear, or Crane…there are normal persons who fight and bleed and die for this village and…" he sniffled, "They don't even get their names written on a fucking stone slab! We have a monument, nice thing…but where are their names? Nowhere, that's where…"

Kabuto helped Shinku up. "Hai, hai," he gave a small smile towards the man behind the counter, as if to ask for the tab.

The Takoyaki stand vendor rattled off the price without even showing the hint of being bothered. It wasn't the first ex-Anbu he had seen at his stall that day, and it wouldn't certainly be the last.

"I didn't take you for a lightweight, Shinku," Kabuto chuckled good-naturedly as he carried the boy towards the hospital. "I have to get back to my shift, but if I leave you on a bench in the hospital park, do you promise not to get into trouble?"

"I'm not drunk," Shinku deadpanned. "I'm just…It was nice talking and…just venting off."

"Anytime you're free and want to chat, I'm always available," Kabuto replied.

"Thanks," Shinku mumbled. "You're a real friend."

Kabuto kept up his smile even as he returned to his shift. Shinku's head dropped against the bench and sighing, he closed his eyes.

Five heartbeats later and he flickered on a nearby rooftop, substituted with a Kawarimi and then flickered again after leaving a Henge standing where he was.

He jumped down in the nearby alley and slid the manhole open in a second, before jumping inside and closing it behind him.

The familiar sound of footsteps and curses reached his ears, as he pressed the side of his head to the ceiling of the sewer.

"Sasuke-sama is going to kill us!" one of the Uchiha bodyguards exclaimed.

"We just had to keep an eye on him…he looked drunk!"

"We better find him, before Sasuke-sama decides we're needed in the archives."

Holding a small victorious smile, Shinku dropped softly down on the side of the sewer hallway. He didn't need people to cuddle him any longer. He was Shinku Haruno, Anbu and Demon of the Paddy Fields.

He was going to learn how to summon something…even if it meant clawing his way out of whatever beasts he ended up finding on the other side.

What was the worst that could happen anyway?

**Author's notes**

**Chapter done. I'll be busy with Nanowrimo. (which is why the update speed is slowing down)**


	62. So, Once More, We Sacrifice Ourselves

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Two

He was in a forest.

A bright, green forest filled with old trees, and branches that seemed as thick and long as roads. Standing atop one of the branches, Shinku looked around with a curious expression on his face. He was definitively somewhere else. Around him, small burrs seemed to be peacefully rolling by.

Was he standing on a giant chestnut tree?

One of such burrs squeaked as it hit with its small hooks on the side of his foot. Shinku froze. No burr squeaked. The thing slowly came apart, revealing a rosy stomach and a pair of small beady eyes.

It was a porcupine.

It was a tiny, little porcupine with small quills.

The squeaking lightly increased as the burrs around him stopped rolling around, and began to gaze at him before squeaking in surprise. He hoped it was surprise and not a 'We are going to kill him and eat him for dinner' squeak.

A couple of bigger burrs rolled down from the nearby trees, their quills used as impromptu climbing tools. Their elongated muzzles and bigger eyes looked at him with curiosity for a moment more. They were as big as mastiffs, but they seemed keener on looking at the source of the squeaking.

He hadn't moved a single inch. The baby porcupine apparently freed itself a few seconds later, because it began to walk atop his foot and then slowly gripped onto the cloth of his trousers. The small-quilled animal climbed softly and with determination all the way up to his shoulder, before emitting a small yawn of satisfaction and falling asleep right there.

Shinku still didn't move a single inch.

He was waiting for the punch-line. He was waiting for the moment where the 'death threat' or the 'kill the intruder' or the 'pass the mortal peril and become our summoner' would happen.

It didn't. The animals seemed content enough in just gazing at him, and he was actually fine in gazing back without taking a step forward.

A slightly bigger burr descended from a tree after a few more minutes. This one had an old appearance…and apparently had glasses. Why did a porcupine need glasses, he didn't know. In its mouth, it carried a small, tattered scroll. There really wasn't any exchange of words.

He carefully made sure not to squish any baby porcupine as he got down on one knee to be at the same eye level of the older creature, which seemed to snort in amusement at the sight of the baby porcupine on Shinku's shoulder.

"Uhm…" Shinku hesitated as he opened the scroll, where a list of names already written on it welcomed him. "No…mortal test to pass?"

The porcupine snorted, rolling its eyes.

"No 'prove your worth in battle' talk?"

Once more, the porcupine seemed to snort —albeit it sounded more like a snicker.

"So, I just sign this and we're done?"

The porcupine nodded.

"All right…" Shinku muttered. He grimaced a moment later. "Anyone has a brush?"

A bunch of quills of different sizes ended up slamming on the bark near him. Shinku blinked once as the old porcupine began to shake his head and shoulders in silent laughter. "I should have said 'anyone has a quill' to make it a funny joke," Shinku deadpanned.

Pricking his finger with a quill the size of a brush, he scribbled down his name in blood on the empty space available.

"Nothing else?" Shinku said warily. The porcupine shook his head and gripped the scroll with its mouth again.

A slightly taller porcupine walked closer to him then, gazing upwards towards his shoulder. Shinku blinked, before understanding dawned about what that particular porcupine wanted. He carefully and gently held the baby porcupine on his shoulder and brought it down to his mother…or father, whatever of the two it was.

With a small and soft shriek of thanks, the older one held the youngest by the scruff of the neck as they began to wobble away —what type of sound did a porcupine make anyway? Horses neighed…so did porcupines 'porcupine'?

"So…" Shinku muttered to himself, "How do I get back now?"

Smoke surrounded him and a split second later he was back in Kakashi's hiding place.

He was back, alive and whole, in the sewer hideout. Flexing his fingers, Shinku looked around in surprise. It hadn't been difficult at all. It was…surprising. If it weren't for the brush-sized quill in his right hand, and the small trickle of blood from his finger, he wouldn't have believed it had been that easy.

Sure, on one side he had known Kakashi was mostly joking with the 'dangerous lethal threats' but…it was very, very nice to know there wasn't a dangerous test involved to become a summoner. It was probably just a matter of chakra requirements.

He slumped down on the nearby armchair, taking a deep calming breath. He was slightly exhausted. He could take a nap for the time being…it wasn't like anyone was out there looking for him or nearly declaring the state of alert in Konoha because he had gone missing.

He really doubted Sasuke would go that far.

Shinku closed his eyes for a moment, before his hands twitched. No, he couldn't take a nap. He had to go outside and make sure there wasn't an alert declared. Groaning, he stood up and walked towards the exit, his hands in his pockets as he yawned loudly. He also needed to see at what point his jacket's repairs were.

He snorted. He could summon porcupines. His armour would resemble a porcupine —once he had the seals down. He wondered how 'The Porcupine Demon' sounded.

He chuckled to himself as he stepped outside of the manhole, closing it behind him and stretching a moment more. He needed a shower, but that could wait.

The streets were as busy as ever, especially in the late afternoon as people returned home from work or went to get their children back from school. He stopped a few times to grab something to eat at the nearby stalls, chewing slowly on a couple of apples, three sticks of dangos and two more sticks of Takoyaki.

There was something strange and foreign budding in his chest. It felt…alien. The people frolicked along, laughing, smiling, talking, a few were angry but…they simply were.

He felt like a shadow hanging from a nearby wall. Those people weren't…they didn't know what it meant to slice a neck. Maybe they did, but they hid it well if that was the case.

Shinku didn't feel like doing much more than walking around.

Somehow, his feet carried him all the way to the bakery shop his parents once had. Now there was a bar —his mother had probably sold the place up— called 'The Crying Well'.

He stepped inside. The interior was utterly different. Gone were the bread shelves, replaced with cheap tables where shinobi drank. There were sunken eyes and moody emotions lingering around thickly, all mixed with the smell of alcohol and smoke.

Instead of the outside road filled with the laughter and the joy of the people… Shinku felt more at ease in this place.

He sat down at the counter, giving but an eye-glance at the bartender.

He didn't particularly like or dislike drinking, but in the thick and dark atmosphere of the bar, nursing a stiff drink he probably wouldn't drink until the moment of departure, he felt really at ease.

Broken men and women, who spoke to one another in subdued tones, surrounded him. Nobody was smiling; nobody thought the war being over was a reason to celebrate. Like boats without sails or oars, they drifted in small talk.

"And I tell you," a voice whispered nearby, "that it was a mess. Bones and flesh…urgh, disgusting…"

"The charred…fire…"

"It broke, shattered…cheap iron…"

"Held him…rambled…"

Those whispers of misery were…soothing. He wasn't alone. In the middle of such a dingy and cheap bar, he wasn't alone. There was no use going to Inoichi to talk in a brightly polished room without stains. This place, with the barely hanging on paint and the alcohol…this place was better.

"So," suddenly, he found himself talked to, "What brings a kid like you in here?"

He gazed at the burly man with a scraggly beard, before turning to his glass. "My feet," he replied.

The man didn't chuckle. "That's a good one, kid."

They lapsed into silence. "You're Kakashi's soldier, right?" the man asked a moment later.

"You're a friend of his?" Shinku retorted.

"Could say so," the man took out a cigarette and a lighter, before lighting it on and taking a puff. "You smoke?"

"No," Shinku shook his head. "I don't even drink that much…" he mumbled, "I'm here for the company."

"Ah," Asuma nodded, "I know the feeling."

The silence stretched once more. The cigarette in Asuma's mouth slowly burned.

"Was he worried I would die trying to summon?" Shinku asked, gazing at his drink.

"He wasn't, or that's what he told me to tell you. I think he was."

Shinku snorted. "Tough love is the only way he has to show preference, isn't it?"

"He didn't grow up with the best example," Asuma acquiesced. "He didn't graduate earlier than everyone else because he simply was a prodigy."

"So glad I'm his favourite," Shinku rolled his eyes. "Do I get a mention in his will?"

"Chances are you do," Asuma actually gazed at him with a small smile. "I'm Asuma, kid."

"Shinku," he replied, "But you already knew that."

They returned to the quiet contemplation of silence, even as Asuma took the cigarette out of his mouth to have a sip of the alcohol in front of him. "You know plum flavoured sake is the kid's alcohol?"

"You're the one calling me 'kid'," Shinku replied softly. "And I don't like the rice flavoured one."

"You want to get drunk, there's Hanazake," Asuma remarked, "Or Awamori if you're up for a mellower taste…kid."

"And what if I'm content with what I have?" Shinku retorted.

Asuma returned to taking a puff of the cigarette in his hand. "Then you're better off than most of the people I know…and you're also a lightweight."

"Thanks," Shinku grumbled. "You learned how to give compliments from Kakashi?"

"He really was worried," Asuma remarked.

"I'm sure," Shinku muttered.

Blissful silence descended once more, and this time remained for a few hours. The thought of going to Muramase's shop to check for his armour completely disappeared from his head. He could check the next day, after all. "So," Asuma said as the sun apparently died outside, slinking behind the Hokage's monument and disappearing from sight. "You aren't going to tell me what you can summon?"

"I'll tell Kakashi," Shinku replied quietly. The door of the bar opened abruptly, as Sasuke marched in his arms crossed over his chest. "I think it's time for me to go," chuckling Shinku paid his tab while swallowing the glass of sake.

Sasuke didn't speak as the two of them left the bar. He actually didn't say a word as they headed along the now deserted roads of Konoha during dinner hours.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Sasuke asked halfway.

"Everyone has things he has to do in private," Shinku retorted. "Privacy should be respected."

"You have someone coming after you," Sasuke's voice was firm and quiet. "I don't understand why you think it's a joke. You have any idea how worried I was?"

"There's a difference between being worried and being overbearing," Shinku retorted. "I can take care of myself."

"You clearly proved that in the cemetery, didn't you?"

Shinku averted his gaze. "So sorry I don't have a nifty Doujutsu to fall back on," he remarked. "Maybe next time I'm neck deep in the blood of my comrades, I'll find out I have a special ability which will save them," he hummed. "I'm still going to keep running away from the bodyguards, no matter how many you put on my tail."

"Why are you making this so difficult? It's for your own good!"

"No, it isn't," Shinku hotly replied. "It's for your own guilty conscience!" he snarled that last bit, showing his teeth. "This is about you, trying to soothe the guilt you feel! I have my own means to cope with my problems while you ignore yours! I'm not the screwed up psycho, you are!"

Shinku quickened his pace.

"That's not true at all! Oi! Stop! Shinku, stop! I didn't mean it like that!"

He didn't listen. His heartbeat drummed in his ears. He flickered to a nearby rooftop and jumped forward. His legs flexed as he twisted in mid-air. He landed on another roof and took off once more. He couldn't fly…but he enjoyed jumping. The village of Konoha was beautiful, seeing it by night with all the lights turned on.

Shinku really would have liked something to hit. He needed something to work his frustrations out on. He needed a garden to weed, or a punching bag to hit.

He landed on another rooftop, catching his breath as he stumbled backwards and fell on his back. He brought a hand to his face and raggedly sighed.

Sasuke returned home, a frown on his face. His hands clenched tightly, he heard his mother's voice reach from the kitchen.

"Oh, there you are!" Mikoto stepped out of the kitchen, a smile on her face, which soon turned into a light perplexed stare. "Sasuke, are you alone?"

Naruko peeked out from the kitchen with her usual bright smile soon disappearing. "Where's Shin-chan?" Hanabi emerged a few seconds afterwards, apparently invited for dinner.

Sasuke grimaced. "He's going to be a bit late."

"Oh," Naruko nodded sagely. "Chibi? Think you can get him?"

"If Shinku-san said he'll be late then shouldn't…"

"Chibi," Naruko's smile was now strained, "Go and get him."

Hanabi stiffened, but quickly left through the door. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why is she wearing that?"

Naruko smiled brightly. "I thought Shin-chan needed something to brighten up his mood!"

"You know you can't pimp minors, do you?"

"I'm not doing it for the money," Naruko pouted.

Mikoto just smiled with a ladle in her hand. Naruko carefully inched away. "Naruko-chan? I think you and I need to have a little _chat_, concerning proper lady behaviours…"

Naruko nervously chuckled as she swallowed, "Mikoto-Bachan…"

Shinku opened his eyes. "Why are you wearing a skirt?" he asked calmly.

Hanabi's cheeks turned a slight tint of red. "Naruko-san thought it would suit me."

She was wearing a pale yellow skirt that reached to her knees, while a loose purple jacket unzipped up till the chest seemed to show off the mesh-shirt below and the budding breasts.

Hanabi's hair was in a bun on the back of her head, giving off the appearance of a tired wife who just started cooking dinner.

"You look better in armour," Shinku deadpanned, "But I'm not a fashion stylist."

Hanabi looked sideways. Shinku calmly stood and stretched. "Let's head back then…I'm pretty sure you're feeling cold," he flickered on a nearby rooftop, followed by Hanabi. "Did you have fun today?"

Hanabi hesitated for a moment, before muttering. "It was embarrassing…but it was fun."

"I'm glad," Shinku chuckled. "You'd better get used to it."

"Ah…ehm…Shinku-san?" Hanabi hesitated, calling out for him. He gave her a quizzical gaze as he stopped on another rooftop.

"Yes?"

"I…I'm one of your teammates," she said. "If…I may be…not as strong as the others but…I'm one of your teammates."

Shinku inclined his head to the side. "Oh?"

"So please…if you need to…you can rely on me too."

Shinku sighed, taking a few steps closer to Hanabi who blushed. The Jounin's hand came down in a soft patting of her head, a small smile stretched on the boy's lips. "Hai, hai," he chuckled. "I will, if you'll do the same."

Dinner was a quiet affair. Well, 'quiet' for having Naruko grin and lecherously elbow Hanabi in the sides half of the time, whereas the Hyuga girl simply remained a bright crimson. Sasuke grumbled, but didn't say a word.

Fugaku Uchiha was working overtime, judging by how he wasn't present at dinner. Sasuke coughed lightly, his gaze travelling from Shinku to Naruko. Shinku raised an eyebrow.

Sasuke coughed again, something that resembled the word 'seal'.

Naruko's ears perked up.

Shinku sighed. He could ask after dinner, couldn't he?

Judging by Sasuke's gaze of 'You'd better ask now' apparently, he couldn't. He conceded, calmly opening his mouth to speak.

"Naruko," the girl's eyes gazed at him with bright and cheerful intensity. Shinku turned to gaze at Sasuke. The Uchiha whistled innocently. The fact Sasuke knew how to whistle 'innocently' was enough to make his skin crawl, but still…

"Yeah, Shin-chan?"

"I wanted to add a set of interlinked seals over the jacket, so that I could activate them all by simply activating one and…"

"And you want the help of the most beautiful, sexy and absolutely gorgeous seal master of Konoha right?" Naruko smiled brightly, "Sure! It's going to be fun!" she snickered.

"I owe you one then," Shinku replied. "I'll offer you a ramen lunch…please don't send me in the red."

Naruko's smile turned feral. "Why would I ever do that, Shin-chan? Kukuku…I'll have to think hard and long about how to make you return the favour," mockingly laughing in a fake evil voice, Naruko nearly choked on the water.

Hanabi apparently seemed to enjoy slamming her hand on Naruko's back for some reason.

Shinku didn't pry.

The next morning, the sunny weather left the place to a cloudy one. Shinku's lips twitched in a light smile at the sight of a bedraggled Hanabi walking out of the guest room and into the kitchen, where he and Sasuke already were while Mikoto cooked in the background. It took five seconds for the girl to realize she wasn't actually in the Hyuga compound, and another two to run back in the room and emerge two minutes later perfectly dressed.

"H-Hi," she stammered out embarrassedly, sitting down for breakfast. "So-Sorry to have imposed…"

Mikoto just giggled lightly. Fugaku Uchiha stepped inside the kitchen a few minutes later, grunting as he sat down for breakfast. Naruko arrived last, yawning and taking the available seat next to Shinku. She dropped her head against his shoulder and returned peacefully to snore.

"Have there been any other attacks?" Fugaku asked with his voice stern and directed towards Shinku. He shook his head.

"No, sir," Shinku said.

"Very well," the man said nothing else.

The Hokage held a grim face as they entered his office. Shinku's guts twisted.

"A situation has happened in the land of Waves," he spoke softly, "A businessman who held favours with Kirigakure's current government died recently, and they are blaming Konoha for this. In order to try to avoid a war, we'll have peace talks…"

Minato's voice died out for a short while. "The official reason is that Kirigakure wishes to discuss a beneficial alliance prospect and christen an arena they built within Wave's new casino. In order to do that however, they decided to have a rematch of an old battle that happened in Konoha during the Chuunin tournament to 'foster relationships'."

Shinku's shoulders began to tremble.

"It is highly possible that winning the battle might result in angering Kirigakure, just as well as losing it might result in an accident for the one involved…"

Shinku brought his right hand to his face, massaging his temple.

"So…" Shinku exhaled, "It's me again, right? That's why you're skirting around the issue so much."

"The current Mizukage, Momochi Zabuza, expressed a peculiar interest in seeing how far 'that budding demon of the leaf' has grown," Minato acquiesced. "You made quite the impression on him, Shinku-kun."

"Unfortunately, I might add," Shinku muttered. "I'll just have to end it in a draw, right?"

"I had someone check through the Bingo Books," Minato continued, "Your opponent will be Chojuro, the same boy you fought in the tournament five years ago…and he's become the wielder of the Kubikiribōchō after Zabuza became Mizukage," the Yondaime's voice turned tone-neutral. "A draw might be difficult."

"Then we just have to avoid accidents," Naruko deadpanned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can barge in and stop the fight, right?"

"In theory," Minato nodded. "In practice, I think they will find a way to hold us occupied as the fight proceeds. It holds the inherent risk of going badly, in more ways than we can possibly think of."

"Then just don't accept," Naruko grumbled.

"It isn't how it works, Naruko," Minato replied. "This is also a part of what being Hokage is about. The village must come first. Sometimes, risking the life of a single shinobi in exchange for the wellbeing of the entire village is required."

Naruko's hands clenched into fists as her arms trembled. "Why the hell would anyone accept that!? There's no way Shin-chan would…"

"As a Jounin," Shinku said, interrupting Naruko, "It is my duty towards the village to accept," he made an awkward smile. "That's just the way things are, Naruko."

Naruko's eyes turned crimson as she slammed a fist through Shinku's face. The fist ended up parried by Sasuke's impromptu Susanoo shield.

Naruko carefully lowered her fist to the side of her body, before sharply gazing at her father. "I'll never understand why you have to be so stupid, dad," Naruko mumbled. "Or why Shin-chan has to be so stupid too," she ground her teeth. "But I'm not going to stand by and watch 'ttebayo."

"Naruko," Minato said calmly, "Do you understand what you're doing right now?"

Naruko didn't reply.

"You aren't simply pushing forth your own egoism," the Yondaime continued, "You are putting into question Shinku's own preparation, skills and abilities. You are _insulting_ him. You can be stronger than him, but he is your superior on the field just as I am his and yours."

"If an order is stupid, then I'm going to call it such!" Naruko yelled back. "And this order is stupid! And Shin-chan's stupid for accepting it!"

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Naruko," Minato retorted hotly.

"Oh, really? Then it will," Naruko growled. "You're not putting Shin-chan, or anyone else I care for, in danger. If I have to stand my ground, I will."

"I thought you had matured enough to be a part of this mission," Minato murmured. "Apparently I was wrong. It would be best if—"

"Hokage-sama," Shinku said plainly, interrupting the Hokage, "That wouldn't solve anything," he chuckled. "I accepted the mission, I'll be going. My team will follow and they _will_ obey my orders."

"Shin-chan—"

"Quiet!" Shinku hissed with his eyes narrow. "Have a tour of a trench filled with mud, blood and corpses and then tell me a life is worth more than a hundred! I don't intend to die out there, but I will make it a draw and everyone will be happy. You're the only one opposing it, Naruko. Do you really not trust my skills at all?"

Naruko's words died in her mouth. "It's…It's not that Shin-chan…but…"

"Then there is nothing to discuss," Inner continued. "As long as I draw out the battle long enough to tire myself and Chojuro, it will become a draw. It might not be enough to prevent a war anyway, but it will give more than enough time to find out what the real reason for Zabuza to call such a meeting is."

Minato nodded. "That was my purpose as well. We might actually manage to strike a deal beneficial for both sides that doesn't involve bloodshed. There is more to this mission than meets the eye, and while there are risks…they are no different if not even lower than those of a normal C-rank."

"A shinobi dances with death every moment he spends on the battlefield or during a mission," Shinku continued. "Accepting that is fundamental."

"Argh," Naruko rubbed her head. "That's…That's…it's…_fine_," she spat out. "But don't expect to swallow down my anger if something happens," she growled.

"You're never going to become Hokage this way, Naruko," Minato murmured.

"I'd rather become a missing-nin than become a Hokage who plays with the lives of others," Naruko snarled back.

"That's what being a Kage is all about, Naruko! Every mission, every time there is a threat for the village or its people, a Kage must know whom to send. Even by doing his best there are D-ranks that can turn into dangerous A-ranks, or S-ranks that end with no one coming back home! This doesn't mean the Hokage plays with the lives of his shinobi! It means he has to make the hard choice every day between the few and the many."

Naruko snorted. "Then I'll just have to change that, and I'll keep on fighting until I can change that!"

"You should at least say goodbye to your mother before leaving for this mission," Minato replied softly. Naruko looked sideways, but gave a stiff nod.

"Very well," Minato acquiesced. "I do not expect any confrontation to occur. No matter what provocation they use or what might happen. Keep your head cool," he gazed towards all of them. "And nothing will go wrong."

Everyone dispersed to get the supplies, except for Naruko who stuck close to Shinku. "Well? Where's your armour? You're going without or what?"

Her tone was snappish, her eyes half-closed in distaste.

"Shouldn't you go talk with your mother?" Shinku asked.

"I can send a clone," she retorted. "And she isn't the one who does stupid things like these!" the crowd definitively was watching them walk side by side. "I can't believe you have to do this! Of all the stupid things, really!"

"Naruko," Shinku said, "Maybe you shouldn't…"

"Oh no! I'm angry at you Shin-chan! Really, why the hell do you always have to say yes to my dad?"

"He's the Hokage!" Shinku blurted out half-offended. "You're the one who shouldn't say no to him!"

"And don't try to act cool!" Naruko snapped back, "You're just going to get yourself killed! Really!"

"I'm not acting cool!" Shinku heatedly replied. "I know what I'm doing!"

"No you don't," Naruko pouted. "If you knew, you wouldn't be so eager to please!"

"I'm not eager to please," Shinku grumbled.

"You owe me one, Shin-chan," Naruko said angrily, "Don't you even think about dying without paying me back, got that?"

"You really should tell me what you want in exchange before, you know? It can't be something unreasonable."

"It isn't," Naruko grumbled. "I already know what to ask. I'm just waiting until I'm done with the seals so you can't go back on your word."

"We're leaving in two hours, are you sure you can do it?"

"I have Kage Bunshin, Shin-chan," Naruko hissed. "I can pretty well finish it in five minutes."

Shinku smartly decided not to say anything else as Naruko appeared angry enough for the time being. He entered Muramase's shop, smiling at the man who was apparently full to the brim with customers buying stuff around.

They all stopped the moment they saw him enter with Naruko in tow.

"Oh, Haruno-san," Muramase said. "You here for your armour? Just a moment…I also have the spikes and the plates done…they just need to be sealed in…"

Naruko snorted, literally pushing her way through as the crowd parted ways. "I'll take care of it. Shin-chan, just you wait there for a moment…"

He chuckled nervously as more than a dozen pair of eyes settled on him next. The air felt incredibly heavy and hot, the gazes of the people outside and inside seemed all fixed on him. He tried an awkward smile. Why the customers seemed fixed on him…it was the last time he walked along the streets. He'd take to the rooftops.

He understood now Sasuke's and Naruko's distaste for walking along the streets of Konoha. All those gazes were on him and it was positively _unnerving_.

"You think it's her boyfriend?" a teenager girl whispered to another in the back of the shop. It had been just that, a spark…but the rumours soon reached his ears as they repeated in various degrees of disbelief.

"Him? No way! Isn't she basically attached to the Uchiha heir?"

"I'm her teammate," he exhaled out, "You know…the third one?"

There were blinks and small 'ohs' of understanding.

Somehow, it felt as if he had just avoided a dangerous trap of some sorts. The fact a few of the Naruko-Tan fans suddenly looked at him with a bit of jealousy rather than full-out hate meant a lot to him…_really_.

The sarcasm in the back of his mind was utterly funny to hear about.

"It's been ages since I saw someone make such flawless seals," Muramase's voice reached him from the far side of the room as he returned towards the counter, Naruko in tow with his armour apparently stashed in a scroll.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruko rolled her eyes, before handing the scroll over to Shinku. "You owe me a dinner," she said plainly. "When we come back from the mission, I expect you to treat me to ramen until I explode, understood?"

"Hai, ma'am," Shinku retorted with a light smile.

Naruko snorted in agreement and then the two of them left from the door. "Now," Naruko said earnestly, "I placed two seals. One's on your right arm and the other is on your left. They're mutually exclusive, so you can't use them both at the same time. Chakra in the right and you get the plates, chakra on the left and you get the spikes. Since they're bulky, the moment you want them back just push chakra in the seals again. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Uh, somehow I doubt you understand how complicated it is to make multiple storages compartment within a single storage seal linked to more than one chakra trigger on the same surface. Then again, I doubt you even thought I knew how to make them until Uke-chan pointed that out," she brought her chin up, smugly smiling.

"You have a point," Shinku acquiesced.

"I know," she giggled. "I could have said you owed me a 'date' back then. It would have been a hell of a lot funnier to see you squirm but I'm a good teammate, ain't I?"

Shinku let out a gargled sound from his throat.

"Oi," Naruko exclaimed, "A normal seal master would ask thousands of ryos for that job I just did in five minutes. I expect the best ramen of Konoha and I expect you to _be_ there." Her eyes looked at him with a serious gaze. "I'm not going to be treated to dinner by a ghost or a dead body, understood?"

"I got that," Shinku replied softly. "But think positive…I didn't make any more enemies after this one," he smiled. "So once this is dealt with, everything will be fine."

Naruko grumbled, "Yeah, fine…" she looked down at the ground. "Am I stupid, Shin-chan? Wanting a world where nobody suffers or is hurt? A world where nobody has to die?"

Shinku's eyes softened. "I'm sure you'll be able to make such a world, Naruko," he smiled. "If you can't, then I doubt anyone else would be able to."

Naruko smiled brightly. "Yep, that's what I thought too Shin-chan," she crossed her arms behind her head, gazing upwards. "Hey," she said softly, "You promise you won't die?"

Shinku sighed.

"Fine, I promise…if you promise you won't try to avenge me if I break my promise."

Naruko stuttered for a moment, before giving a hesitant nod. "That's a tall order Shin-chan. I mean…How am I going to survive with you and Uke-chan gone? I'd have to rely on poor little Chibi-chan!"

"Make more friends," Shinku replied. "The people you knew and came to despise…you can always try to give them a second chance."

"And if I get hurt again?" Naruko grumbled.

"Then I'll let you cry on my shoulder again," Shinku's lips twitched upwards. "I'm the oldest one in the team after all…"

"Yeah, right," Naruko snorted. "Should I start calling you 'Aniki' then? You'd be a perverted sis-con," she chuckled.

"Uhm…if you say so," Shinku shrugged, a twinge of a grimace etched on his face.

"You know," Naruko muttered. "There's something I haven't told you…about your mother…"

"I don't want to know," Shinku said. "She disowned me, didn't she? I thus have no mother. It doesn't matter…it really doesn't matter."

"Got it," Naruko nodded. "Then I won't say a word about it, 'ttebayo!"

Shinku raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to gather your supplies?"

"Kage Bunshin," Naruko grumbled. "Shin-chan! Try to remember I can use solid clones at least for a few minutes!"

"Hai, hai," chuckling, Shinku extracted his armour from the storage scroll before putting it on. The familiar heavy weight soothed him more than anything else he could possibly think of.

The long inner armguards fit snugly with his arms and hands, while the lower part of his armour ended with shin guards. The bulky appearance replaced with a sleeker dark brown and green look, while the shoulder guards had their borders sharp like kunai blades.

"I'll have to put the weapons back in their storage slots," Shinku muttered as he strapped on the latches and the hooks.

Naruko giggled.

"What?" Shinku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing Shin-chan, nothing at all…"

On the back of the armour, written with thick black paint strokes, were the kanji for the word 'Crimson' and 'Demon'.

She was sure he'd like the personal touch to the back of his armour…but she wasn't going to be the one to spoil the surprise.

Everything was going to be fine. She had a good feeling about it.

**Author's notes**

**Everything is going to be fine.**

**Only fluff and happiness.**

**Porcupine summons.**

**Because why the hell not.**

**They're so cute, and fluffy.**


	63. Unquestionable Burning of The Bonds

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Three

The clouds turned into rain as they travelled towards Wave without a break. Taking point were the three shinobi of the Hokage's personal guard, while protecting the back was Team Seven. There wasn't much of a distance between the Hokage and everyone else, yet Naruko did her best to make that distance as long as possible.

The water poured down like a thin sleet, impairing visibility and dribbling down Shinku's shoulder pads and armour.

"Hanabi, the Byakugan," Shinku drawled out after another jump past a branch. Hanabi obeyed, her eyes surrounding themselves with thick veins as she looked around.

"We're clear," she answered back, deactivating it.

"So," Naruko whispered in her direction. "You saw how hung Shin-chan is? And what about Uke-chan?"

Hanabi spluttered, but didn't answer.

"You know what?" Shinku muttered, "Next time I have a measurement tape in my hands I'll check it out and then I'll tell you the size," he grumbled. "Happy enough?"

"Yep," Naruko smiled brightly.

Minato chuckled nervously. He would really have a few choice words with Jiraiya one day or another.

The rain didn't give up halfway through, and if anything it increased in strength to the point where going any further became impossible. They camped under the branches of a giant tree, setting off a couple of tents and a few small fires so that everyone could dry off.

Shinku sat cross-legged near a fire with Naruko nearby, while Sasuke and Hanabi shared another right next to them. Between the Yondaime and Naruko was practically everyone else.

He was staring at the fire crackling and devouring through the wood, when one of the Hokage's guards called to him with a sharp whistle for the change of the guard on the upper branches.

"Something I should point out," the man muttered as Shinku flickered on the above branch to take point, "Is the prerogative of protecting the Uchiha heir before the others."

Shinku raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "The Hyuga comes second, while the Hokage is third. Naruko can take care of herself," Raido stated plainly. "If you see any threats coming, it's the usual sharp whistling."

He nodded. Raido jumped down from the branch, taking the free spot near the fire. Shinku stood on the tree in a crouched position, a small sigh escaping his lips. He could understand why Sasuke was the most important to protect. Uchiha heir, bound to marry the Hyuga heiress…political power, the Mangekyou…he was the utmost definition of 'Vip'. Hanabi came second because of her clan, while the Hokage was third because the Yondaime wasn't a 'run on sight' order for nothing.

Naruko being the last of the 'Vip' was obvious. She didn't need any protection at all.

Maybe it had been a mistake, to bring them along. He shouldn't have talked the Hokage out of it. He flexed his fingers, before giving a quick bite to his thumb. In a whispered voice, he muttered out. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was a small puff of smoke, which soon dispersed to give way to a baby porcupine. Shinku clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, but gently held the porcupine in his hands to warm the little creature. The thing felt soft and yet spiky in his hands, its tiny muzzle sniffing the air as it gazed around with a bit of curiosity.

"What'cha doing, Shin-chan?" Naruko asked, apparently having flickered her way right behind him. She dropped her arms crossed over his head, her breasts pushing against his neck as she looked curiously towards the baby summon.

She had hung her jumpsuit to dry, and thus was only in her slightly humid black tank top.

"Tried summoning," he replied completely unfazed. Breasts on his head meant nothing. He had already gone through that teasing and much worse with Cat. "Not enough chakra, I suppose."

The baby porcupine yawned, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hey," Naruko pouted. "It's not like you have someone in your team who already knows how to summon, right?"

"Yeah," Shinku replied with a small grin on his face. "Unfortunately I don't, right?"

"Meanie," Naruko grumbled. "So, you already tried to push all the chakra you have in the summon? How big did you manage to summon something?"

"Ah, no," he said. "I just tried a little bit. I don't know how big summon can be, but knowing that the Toad's one is as big as the Kyuubi…I really don't want to risk it."

"Uke-chan can summon hawks," she muttered. "But nobody uses summons much…too slow to bring them up and the enemy never gives you enough time to do it."

There was a moment of silence. "You're no longer fun to tease, Shin-chan," Naruko pouted, squishing her breasts up and down on his head for added emphasis.

"Should I be…sorry about it?"

"There has to be something you're still flustered on," she grumbled. "Maybe you're an ass person?"

She detached herself, crossing her legs and bringing her back up against his. "Hey Shin-chan," she mumbled, her eyes closed. "I can hear your heartbeat," Naruko grinned.

"Yeah?"

"Yep," she chuckled. "You know, I promised myself that I'd never lose a friend," she whispered. "I don't want to break my word, Shin-chan. You got that? I'm not a liar. Don't make me one."

"Uh-uh," Shinku acquiesced, gazing at the forest's undergrowth and the dripping raindrops that fell way above them.

"There was that time in the forest of death," Naruko continued, "when you broke your arm, you know? I…There are times when I try to go to sleep and I can't, so I remember everything stupid I did in the past and that makes it even more difficult to go to sleep because…ah, it's difficult to say, but I did a lot of stupid things."

"You're trying to make a point somewhere in your babbling?" Shinku asked, his voice holding a light chuckle.

"Uke-chan and I…we tried to fix your shoulder. I know now that what we did, back then…it was stupid. You could have died of shock, you could have bled out, we could have made it worse but…but there was a tiny part of me back then that simply didn't care, because you weren't my friend and…and I'm _ashamed_, because back then I wouldn't have even cried if…well, if you hadn't survived."

Shinku didn't say a word.

"If we went back in time, if that thing happened again, I would take you and bring you out of the forest and to the hospital, without half-assed measures. If it had happened to Sasuke, I would have done the same thing but…I know it's something really _stupid_ to lose sleep on, but…I mean, how stupid was I? You didn't complain once and yet there I went…" there was a sniffle, "And you ended up getting hurt again and again…and…" she sniffled a few more times, "And I can't help but think that it's because you're in this team, that it's because you're my friend, that this happens."

Shinku took a deep breath, and then slammed the back of his head against Naruko's own. There was a loud thunk and an 'ow' as the boy winced in agony.

His head drummed as if he had hit a concrete wall.

"Ouch," Naruko moaned, "What was that for, Shin-chan!?"

"Maybe, if I had been in another team," he replied dryly. "I wouldn't have risked my neck half the times I did." He gazed towards the ceiling of branches and leaves. "At the same time, I wouldn't be able to do what I can do now."

He chuckled. "Just watch me…and you'll see."

Naruko pouted. "Oi, you can stop acting cool Shin-chan," she chuckled. "It doesn't work at all."

She stood up and stretched one last time before jumping down. Shinku just grinned. He wasn't afraid of fighting Chojuro. He wasn't afraid of risking his life.

Was this what it meant, to be shinobi?

The downpour ceased after a couple of hours, and as they proceeded once more through the sleek branches, Shinku neared the Hokage after the man signalled him to come closer.

"How long do you think you can last?" the Yondaime asked.

"Depends on the terrain," he acquiesced. "Five minutes…ten," he muttered. "I can reach twenty-five…but I can't guarantee the enemy's survival," Inner retorted. "If he's fighting to kill, it might make it easier."

"The arena should be within a casino," Minato continued, "It shouldn't hold anything overtly biased."

"I know some Suiton techniques anyway," Shinku murmured. "Worse case happens and we're fighting on water, I'll try my best."

"Why water of all things? Wouldn't earth release work better with your fire affinity, to counter water?"

"My third team had water release users," he deadpanned. "Earth release users are rare in Konoha just like the Wind ones."

"I see," Minato murmured. "You learned from them?"

"I learned from everyone I could," Shinku snorted. "Assassination, Techniques, Fighting…I learned it from everyone who was willing to teach the _brat_ something."

"Have you spoken with Kakashi yet?" Minato asked.

"Yes," he answered. "We had a little chat."

"Good," Minato murmured.

The village of the land of Waves was visible from afar now, as bright lights and glaring neon colours illuminated the streets. Concrete, glass panels showing luxurious items and whorehouses with women smiling and wearing skimpy suits to entice customers to enter all seemed so foreign when compared to how the land had been five years before.

The few Kiri shinobi who were present on the streets gave them the widest of berths. The Yondaime's presence was more than enough to dissuade anyone from trying anything, but the look on the people's face surprised Shinku.

There were two types of people hanging around the street. The rich folks, surrounded by burly men who pushed away others from their charges, walked with an air of frivolity and the poor, who begged from the streets.

There were fewer and fewer beggars as they neared the tall and bright casino 'Gato's Pride', while the number of fur-wearing people increased. The casino's entrance held butlers primly dressed and with the glint in their eyes typical of the best of ass-lickers.

"Hokage-sama," one of them neared with a bright smile that would have looked real only on a shark feasting on a newborn baby in the sea. "It is an honour for this modest establishment to have one such as yourself visiting."

"I am sure the Mizukage is already here," Minato remarked. His eyes moved to a nearby poster, depicting the imminent opening of the casino's arena. "And he is eager to get discussions started."

"Oh, of course," the butler nodded amiably. "I was told to start immediately. We have a lot of guests who waited for this moment with trepidation."

Naruko took a step forward, her hand coming down gently on Shinku's shoulder pad. She patted it once, making a small smile. "Now you go and win, Shin-chan. You owe me a dinner after all."

Sasuke patted his other shoulder, whispering as quietly as he could. "Don't worry. We'll be coming to the rescue if you need us."

Hanabi looked at him with her normal stiff gaze, before muttering. "Shinku-san…I'll be cheering for you."

Shinku sighed, "Don't worry."

He tapped the side of his head, where he had the earplug. "I'll definitively hear your cheers."

Shinku followed the butler, while the rest of his team, the Hokage's guard and the Yondaime himself moved after another butler of sorts. At a nearby slot machine, a green-eyed man with dark skin grumbled, before pulling the lever.

The ringing sound of the slot machine announcing his win covered the slick moving sound the black tendrils of his Earthen Grudge, which carefully returned within his body.

"Now where did that imbecile go," the man muttered, collecting his win with a snort. Kakuzu stood, holding the bag with the chips and heading with a slow pace towards the casino's money exchange.

"Jashin-sama teaches a lot of things, my charming friend," his voice made shivers crawl down Kakuzu's spine. "Among many other things, it teaches when to scream his name and when not to," Hidan appeared next to him, wearing a long black cloak that covered his entire appearance. "Let me tell you, I have seen quite a bit of persons that could use the grace of Jashin…" he hummed thoughtfully.

"Keep concentrated," Kakuzu growled. "Our target is too big to catch alone…"

"That's why the boss is coming, right?" Hidan retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "The arena is going to open soon…I hope they won't be late. I want to enjoy it."

"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu hissed. "I hope the new guys are up to it."

Nagato walked silently through the street. Konan was nearby, her dark blue hair exalted by the white paper flower she used to hold it up in a bun. The rain had stopped, but soon he would make it start again. Near him, a red haired woman and an orange haired man walked with their gazes downcast.

They weren't S-ranks shinobi, but they shared the ideals of Akatsuki.

On the rooftops, a blue-skinned man jumped silently avoiding the Kirigakure shinobi with ease. With him was a cloaked figure, moving deftly.

"We'll come in from the top," he radioed, "Let's make sure we don't let our prey escape."

Zetsu-_**s**_ carefully emerged from the ground below the casino, straight in their basement. "_We_ have the escape routes covered. **Waste of time as it can be.**"

Shinku's skin itched as he was brought away from the shining lights of the slot machines and to the back, where the workers seemed busy running back and forth. He passed by the kitchens, where youngsters carried around heavy crates and chefs screamed and barked orders.

He descended a few flights of stairs, before proceeding across a neon-lighted corridor. The butler stopped midway through, gesturing for him to continue.

Apparently, they wouldn't even give him the heads up on where he was going to fight.

Talk about giving him the unfair advantage.

His heart drummed as his feet moved, bringing him closer to the end of the tunnel and towards a brighter light. He entered a dome-like structure surrounded by thick metallic poles that interweaved to make it resemble a cage. It was very spacious, probably as big as the Konoha's arena…but beyond the iron, there was nothing more than concrete and steel.

Cameras placed within the concrete and at the sides, all embedded into the walls to display to the spectators elsewhere —and probably quite a few stairs above— the show that was about to begin.

There was another tunnel on the other side, from where a pale blue haired boy with sharp eyes and shark-like teeth entered. He didn't really remember Chojuro from five years before, but the butcher's cleaver on his back was proof enough he was facing him. He also wore a leathery brown armour fashioned similar to that of a Chuunin.

A metallic voice resounded from the speakers all around them.

"Lords and Ladies! The arena's first match will be a masterfully planned reunion of fate between two contestants! On one side, we have Chojuro, swordsman of the Hidden Mist with a bounty ranging in the fifty-five thousands ryos! All the swordsmen of the Mist are highly trained specialists in assassination! On the other side we have Shinku Haruno, the Crimson Demon of the leaf!"

Shinku sputtered. "_What_?"

Naruko chuckled from her spot as the announcer said that. Her Kage Bunshin were already looking around for the way towards the arena, as they had been brought way up on one of the higher floors of the casino where the Mizukage and many more rich lords and ladies were comfortably watching the show through giant screens.

They could hear everything that went on down below, but that would make it difficult for her to intervene…unless she simply used a rasengan to drill her way downwards.

"The arena," the announcer continued, "Is located deep within the foundation of the casino to ensure no harm is done to the spectators. The shinobi can fight to their hearts' content inside a specifically designed dome capable of resisting the concussive force of two hundred explosive tags! Betting on the match is, of course, allowed!"

Zabuza's appearance was still menacing, even as he wore the Kage's white with the red and white hat bearing the symbol of the land of Water. Next to him, Mei held a wistful look while looking at a few men of 'age'. "Of course, no match is to the death but accidents may happen! The only means of surrender are through unconsciousness or giving up…and in order to keep things fair, we took into account the elemental affinities of the shinobi."

The camera showed a few holes open in the ceiling, as water began to drizzle in, dribbling like rain but only in a few spots. "A fight between shinobi is generally not fair, but we want an interesting match!"

The Yondaime looked at the drizzling water and then at Zabuza, who smirked back.

"We should wait to discuss until the match is over," the Mizukage said, "I want to see the arena tested to its full potential."

"Momochi-san," Minato replied, "Shouldn't we first make clear that Konoha wasn't responsible for Mister Gato's death?"

"Oh, but I know that already," Zabuza rolled his eyes. "I'm interested in the match. I could care less about Gato being dead or not."

He smiled. "Last time, my apprentice didn't finish the job. This time around…I want to see the blood flow," he chuckled. "Afterwards, we can discuss alliances…Kiri's strength lies in the sea, not on the ground."

Minato grimaced, but kept his gaze on the monitor afterwards.

Shinku took a deep breath.

He cracked his neck slightly, flexing his right and left hand as he silently palmed a kunai in both hands.

"Did you know," Chojuro muttered, "How much I trained in these five years?" his right hand went to the handle of the Butcher's Cleaver. The arm showed off quite a bit of muscle as it flexed to grip the blade. "Do you know what my only thought was, for this five years?" Chojuro's breathing evened out as the tunnels' entrances closed with heavy concrete slabs bound by iron bars.

"It was…"

"The fight will begin in four!" the announcer exclaimed. "The betting pool will close once the fight starts!"

"Three!"

Zabuza's eyes narrowed as he gave a nod to Mei.

"Two!"

Mei whispered the bet to the one in charge.

"One!"

Silence descended everywhere as everyone held breaths.

"Revenge," Chojuro snarled as the announcer roared out the 'Zero'.

Chojuro flickered out of existence, as Shinku did the same thing. For a few seconds, it was as if the arena was empty.

The clinking sound of metal soon roared through the speakers as the two shinobi appeared once more. Shinku held the tip of both his kunai thrusting forth against the flat of Chojuro's blade, as the other man angrily snarled and pushed him backwards.

Shinku spun, firing off from his sleeves volleys of shuriken that Chojuro swatted away with a swipe of his blade. Sparks soared as Shinku palmed another pair of kunai to block with them both the swipe of the Kiri shinobi.

He hissed, grounding his teeth at the inhuman strength.

_Strength contest is out of question. Keep to the dry area._

He spun, letting his legs give away as he twisted his body to the side. The butcher's cleaver crashed against the ground as Shinku made small jumps backwards, evening his breath as he brought up both of his kunai in a defensive posture.

Chojuro made a hand seal, forcing Shinku to let go of both of his kunai as he began to fly through his own seals. His throat enlarged as a flamethrower technique erupted from his mouth; it sailed straight for Chojuro's forming mist. The water evaporated in steam.

_**DOWN.**_

Shinku knelt in time to avoid a swipe that would have neatly _beheaded_ him.

He slammed his right fist forward, meeting the strong resistance of armour as he grimaced in pain —he needed metallic knuckle-dusters, not just armguards.

A kick came for his stomach, but the steel plates absorbed the hit and made Chojuro grimace in turn. Shinku pushed himself backwards, just as the other shinobi tried to hit his face with his knee by jumping forward.

Chojuro spun, grabbing on the butcher's cleaver with both hands.

Shinku's chakra pushed out the plates, which dented brutally upon impact before disappearing. He howled from the pain he felt in his left shoulder, but snarled as his right hand dug forward to slam on Chojuro's chest with a primed explosive tag while the shinobi gazed in surprise at the 're-reinforced' armour.

The Kiri shinobi flickered backwards, removing his armour as the detonation turned it to shreds.

Shinku carefully flexed the fingers of his left hand.

He could still move them.

The plates worked, and he hadn't broken anything important.

"I spat blood for five years!" Chojuro snarled, "I'm a swordsman of the mist! I'm among the strongest shinobi the mist has! Stop fucking with me and get out of that shitty piece of junk!"

"This junk…saved my life more times than I can count," Shinku replied softly.

"Fine! I wanted to enjoy watching you bleed…but if that's not possible then I'll enjoy watching you drown!"

Chojuro _flung_ the butcher's cleaver in Shinku's direction, letting it spin like an oversized shuriken. Shinku shunshin'd to the side, slamming his feet against the wall of the dome as the Kirigakure shinobi finished the technique.

A water dragon roared and rose from the puddles of water, before slamming itself with strength against Shinku's previously occupied spot. The problem was… the dragon didn't disappear. Shinku rolled on the ground as the dragon charged once more, digging into the muddy terrain to show the concrete below. The water bubbled as it kept coming down from the sprinklers, increasing in speed and intensity with each passing second.

_He's breaking the sprinklers. We need to close them._

_**Also avoiding a water dragon. We have two minds, not two bodies.**_

_One day, we will learn the Kage Bunshin. Until then…store it._

Inner hissed as he waved open a scroll, spinning and slamming it straight against the water dragon's maws. The seals on the storage scroll shone as they absorbed the dragon, slurping down on the water like an extremely dry sponge.

Chojuro interrupted the technique, letting the remaining body of the dragon disperse on the ground. Shinku breathed raggedly, clasping the scroll.

Had five minutes gone by? He hoped so, because it was starting to get tiresome to…

_**RIGHT!**_

Shinku sidestepped to the right, as Chojuro came forth with a Kirigakure kunai. The next second, it met in a shower of sparks with a similar one. The two locked in a battle of strength, as Shinku growled while holding with his left Chojuro's hand clasped tightly.

They were knife fighting.

He thrust forward, aiming for the neck and pushing with all the strength he had. It wasn't a matter of being precise as much as stopping the other from deflecting. Chojuro's kunai slammed repeatedly against his chest, denting the plates and the chainmail but not passing through at all.

His own sliced the sides and the cheek, but didn't manage to nick the artery at all. He wasn't aiming at those points to begin with.

The moment Chojuro's aim settled for his left wrist, it was Shinku's turn to parry with his kunai. In that instant, the Kirigakure swordsman slammed a foot against Shinku's thigh. He let his right leg slid down on the ground to avoid shattering the bone, but at the same time that gave Chojuro the chance to slam his kunai through Shinku's neck.

At least, that would have happened had Shinku's right hand not gone up to grab at Chojuro's wrist. Shinku's eyes stared with determination at Chojuro's, as the tip of Kirigakure kunai was mere inches away from the side of his right eye.

_**ROLL!**_

Shinku's entire body pulled at Chojuro's as his back hit the floor, before throwing the Kirigakure shinobi to his left and slamming his own head in a head-butt. Chojuro's nose began to bleed as Shinku flickered backwards in that instant of hesitation.

In a moment, Shinku caught his breath and a giant bullet of water slammed against his body coming from Chojuro's throat. Shinku slid backwards, bringing up his arms as another bullet hit him there. He growled, his left shoulder pulsing in pain.

"We aren't going to reach ten minutes this way," Inner muttered as another bullet ended up against his guard and brought him closer to one of the dome's sides.

_It's a matter of who tires first. If he uses techniques, he'll go down on chakra faster._

_**It's not the first bullet he threw this way…why would he—**_

_**JUMP.**_

Shinku jumped, twisting his body in mid-air as the next bullet of water that went by impacted and dropped a viscous purple fluid rather than the normal clear coloured water one. The moment it touched the ground, it began to evaporate…like a powerful acid.

"My parents died because I couldn't kill you five years ago," Chojuro muttered. "All this time, I trained so that I could kill you. All this time, I bled so that I could kill you. I will kill you. I have to kill you or I will die. There is no other choice for me left!" snarling, Chojuro flickered to the Butcher's cleaver once more.

In that instant, Chojuro growled as a dark purplish chakra spread through his body. His left hand gripped at his shirt's neck and with a strong jerking motion, he ripped it off. A seal just like the one Sasuke had on his neck spread out through a flame-like pattern all across the boy's chest and face.

"I made a deal with the devil," Chojuro roared as the chakra poured through his body thicker and stronger than before, his skin cracking as two giant arms appeared from his back. One of the two grabbed the Butcher's cleaver, while the other turned into a wicked claw-like shape. Sharp fangs emerged from Chojuro's mouth as his skin turned a dark bluish tint.

The boy charged ahead then with such strength and speed, that Shinku barely managed to push himself to the side. The claw-like fist slammed against the dome and _dented_ it slightly.

_Smoke bombs! NOW!_

Small pellets erupted from Shinku's sleeves as a thick smoke covered the area. The drizzling water, the vapour, the fog, the smoke…Shinku couldn't see anything as he carefully moved further away from his previous spot, but neither could Chojuro.

_**ROLL.**_

He rolled forward just as the butcher's cleaver slashed the air while the free claw-fist slammed on the ground where he had been a moment before.

_Kiri shinobi learn how to fight in the mist. He still has keen ears after all!?_

Explosive tags primed and detonated at Shinku's feet as he jumped backwards again. The explosion rocked the air, shifting the fog for but a moment.

_Don't his ears ring at all?_

Was he facing…another impossible to defeat monster?

His breathing increased. His heart drummed. Adrenaline ran through his veins as his lips twitched.

On the upper floors, Minato's eyes were sharply looking at Zabuza who simply chuckled. "What the kid does with his body to become stronger is his choice. It's not like we have deals about delivering missing-nin back home, do we?"

"If you're sheltering Orochimaru…"

"No, he just passed by," Zabuza retorted. "Or maybe the kid went looking for him. It's not like I know or care."

"Didn't you just say he's your apprentice!?" Sasuke snarled, looking at the Mizukage while pointing at the screen. "You let him go through that!? Aren't you supposed to be protecting and instructing him!?"

Zabuza didn't answer for a few seconds, that stretched as if they were minutes.

"Ah…" a small chuckle, "Ahah…" the chuckle grew. "You're funny kid!" Zabuza's laughter increased until it occupied the entire room, with everyone turning to gaze at him for a moment.

"Who do you think is my apprentice in there? The one I gave the sword to…or the one who will claim that sword by killing his enemy!?" his eyes narrowed to cold steel, "The swords of the swordsmen of the mist cannot be willingly given. You must claim them from the corpse of those who held them before! That is a sacred tradition of the Hidden Mist!" he pointed at the monitor. "It is not Chojuro I think of as an apprentice…he is nothing more than a _tool_. He is a grinding stone. The one I'm refining, the one I deem my apprentice…" he laughed again, "Is the one who took on my same nickname!"

"Shin-chan's a shinobi of the leaf! He's not your apprentice!" Naruko snapped at him, "You take that back, you bastard! You didn't teach him anything!"

"Oh no," Zabuza smiled, "I _did_ teach him something," he chuckled. "I taught him how to _laugh at death_."

From the monitors, the cackling sound of Shinku's voice came through.

"And he learned that very well…didn't he?" Zabuza smirked.

"Shin-chan!" Naruko yelled, gazing towards the monitor. "Dad!" she exclaimed, "We have to—"

There was a polite knocking at the door of the loft. The bodyguard assigned to the inner side opened the small spyglass, and his reward was a sharp earthen spike through the eye. The man fell backwards, blood spraying from his eye.

The door banged open as the windows exploded. The ceiling caved in and, as the dust settled and the Hokage's bodyguards took their position to safeguard the Yondaime…the Akatsuki stood in the loft.

"Naruko Namikaze," Nagato said crisply, his eyes narrow and cold. "Come with us."

"If it isn't fish steaks!" Zabuza exclaimed, removing his hat as he gazed hard at Kisame. "What are you doing, you old bastard?"

Kisame grinned. "Hope you like having a hat instead of a sword, Zabuza."

The hooded figure near Kisame slowly let her hood down, to reveal the purple marked cheeks of Rin.

"Rin?" Minato muttered.

"Sensei," Rin retorted. "I'm…not the only one."

There was a twisting in the air, soon followed by the appearance of a Mangekyou wielder —albeit only in one eye— man with a pair of eye goggles on his forehead.

He had only one eye.

He was under the Edo Tensei technique.

"He's…" Sasuke's breath hitched.

"Hey sensei," Obito Uchiha smiled awkwardly. "Sorry about this but…I can't stop my body from obeying…it really sucks."

Naruko shifted her body, ready to dash towards her teammates. They'd make their way through them and go downwards to rescue Shin-chan, and then they'd leave without a hitch. The plan was perfect, there really wasn't—

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Don't try anything funny, Jinchuuriki," he hissed. "We have…an extremely convincing argument on our side…" and with that, he gestured towards the monitor…where Zetsu carefully grinned from a spot _within_ the arena.

"Fight us…and your teammate _dies_."

Naruko's eyes widened.

Sasuke ground his teeth.

Hanabi clenched her fists.

"Orders, sir?" Raido quickly muttered.

The Yondaime grimaced. "There's only one thing we can do, Raido…"

"Surrender," Nagato continued. "I dislike using violence…but if you will force my hand, I will."

Minato snarled.

"I will not hand over my daughter to the likes of you, I know what Akatsuki does!"

Nagato inclined his head to the side. "And we know what you can do, Yondaime. We prepared this trap specifically. Do escape with the Hiraishin bringing your daughter with you…but can you bring more than one person so far away from here without dying from chakra exhaustion? There are too many in the team…and you are alone."

"Ah," Minato chuckled.

"Oi Dad, we aren't leaving Shin-chan here," Naruko mumbled.

"That's…where you're wrong," Minato smiled, looking at Nagato.

In a flash of light…Minato reappeared behind Naruko just as Raido and Genma appeared behind Sasuke and Hanabi.

"Obito!" Nagato exclaimed.

"I'm sorry sensei!"

Obito exclaimed before obeying, his Mangekyou using the Amaterasu. Iwashi flashed in front of the blow, screaming in pain as Minato disappeared together with Naruko. The girl screamed, not from the pain but from anger.

Sasuke felt himself pulled away, just as Hanabi felt the same pull.

Zabuza watched the scene happen with a sort of amusing smirk.

"So…" the Mizukage said plainly, "You called all the big shots…and you let him get away? You suck guys, let me tell you this."

"No," Nagato remarked, gazing at the monitor. "Everything went as planned…and not all of them got away."

Zabuza grumbled. "Well…a deal is a deal," he acquiesced. "Let the kid tire himself out first…I want to see how this ends."

Nagato nodded.

"And did you really have to kill that guard, old man?" Zabuza grumbled towards Kakuzu, "I mean, I even gave you permission to cheat at the slots…"

"He was slow," Kakuzu grunted back.

"Jashin wants more blood!" Hidan yelled, gazing at a monitor. "Come on fuckers! Bleed! Bleed for Jashin!"

Minato gasped for air as he landed on the seal atop the Hokage's monument. His two bodyguards were just behind him, but looked even more strained and exhausted than him.

Such a long-range usage of the technique…he had expected to use it to run away in case the 'peace' talks were nothing more than a trap, but he hadn't expected the Akatsuki.

He hadn't expected it at _full complement_ either.

Just like he didn't expect Naruko to slam a fist on his face to the point where he lost consciousness a split-second later.

Then again, as he fell unconscious…maybe he _had_ deserved the punch.

**Author's notes**

**Everything is fine. The world is a happy place.**

**Shinku's fine. The world is a fluffy place.**

**Nobody's dead, except Iwashi who is apparently the third guy in the Hokage's platoon guard.**

**(Btw…they had more than eighteen years to perfect the Hiraishin. So yes, they can all use it)**

**And Obito's back from the dead! Yeahy!**

**Just like Rin.**

**And they're in Akatsuki.**

**Ah…**

_**Beautiful**_**.**

**Can you feel it, the sparks of flames beneath the fluff?**


	64. Keeping The Sanity Slipping In Blood

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Four

Chojuro's flesh rippled as he breathed hard. Shinku snarled, his teeth bared like those of an animal. How long would he still have to fight?

"Kid," Zabuza's voice came through the microphone. "The rest of your team left," he acquiesced. "They left you behind."

Shinku's eyes widened a fraction as he hastily rolled down to avoid Chojuro's sword swipe.

"I can see it beneath your skin," Zabuza continued. "I can see your desire to fight him to your utmost content. The desire to kill and make him bleed," his voice was soft. "Let it bubble and rise to the surface. Unshackle it, free your demon...fight and kill with it."

"What are you talking about!?" he yelled out as he jumped for the ceiling, escaping from a crushing blow that cracked apart the concrete floor. Chojuro didn't seem to care about Zabuza actually hoping his death, but apparently he didn't look at all capable of reasoning to begin with.

"Your Hokage chose to protect his daughter, your team..._but not you_. He abandoned you, Shinku. They all abandoned you," Zabuza laughed dryly. "You've been left alone. You're all alone...to fight and win...or to fight and die."

Zabuza took a deep breath, "Kill him. Claim the blade through the blood of its owner. Let this day mark the end of your time as a mere human, let this day be the proof that you're a demon, a monster, a beast who feasts on blood and tears. Come on, Shinku! I know the desire in your chest is ripping at its shackles, trying to break free! You're like me, Shinku! You want it all to end in blood! You want the strength, the maddening rush of adrenaline! Kill or be killed!"

Shinku laughed as he twisted his body, landing on the ground just as Chojuro's giant hands cracked the spot he had been before. His laughter erupted from his throat unwanted and unneeded, even as his fingers flexed and closed in fists.

"So I can kill him?" he asked, gazing at the monstrous form of his opponent. "That's a tall order."

"I have the utmost trust in you," Zabuza replied, "Crimson Demon..."

Shinku's tongue clicked in disgust as he pushed his arms upwards, unleashing the barbed wire within his storage seals. The metallic hooks turned iridescent with the scorching hot fire chakra that ran through them, melting themselves to the skin of the Kirigakure's swordsmen. A sharp pull of its giant hands freed the man however, letting him roar his fury as the charred flesh and melted metal fell off in scattered fragments.

The sprinklers stopped delivering water.

"Stop it with your petty tricks! They won't work! Only a beast can fight a beast, only a demon can fight a demon!"

Shinku bit down on his thumb, going through the hand seals. It was a matter of chakra. He could try to summon something at least to distract him and—

And it didn't work as Chojuro backhanded him against the nearby wall. The impact took the breath out of Shinku's lungs, the creaking of the metallic plates telling him he wouldn't survive another blow of such intensity as his blood gushed out of his mouth together with his breakfast…and probably a part of his lungs.

He had to get out of there. His fog-riddled brain screamed for him to move, his body twitched and filled with spasms.

Shinku _tried_ to move as Chojuro's normal hands gripped tightly on his shoulders. The man was foaming from the mouth, the white of his eyes visible, as he apparently had lost all reason. Shinku screamed as he _tried_ to free himself from the crushing grip, before snarling as the spikes erupted from the seals on his body. Chojuro's 'giant' hands came crushing down as the boy's 'main body' stumbled backwards, but Shinku pushed himself forward in a shoulder tackle, slamming his bladed shoulder pad straight against his chest.

Chojuro's wound sprayed out thick and oozing black blood, as the Kirigakure shinobi screamed in anger. His right arm came up, slamming into Shinku's neck guard and gripping tightly on it, before breaking it apart as if it were butter.

Chojuro's fangs came crushing down on Shinku's shoulder, biting on the spike and ripping it off before gnawing down on the pad itself.

Shinku kneed him, the shin guard coming up with its bladed edge to cut deeply into the boy's stomach.

"Let. Me. Go!" Shinku snarled, his chakra burning around his body as he could feel the gnawing fangs reach for his flesh. Chojuro flinched, and thanks to that instant of distraction, Shinku slithered away replacing himself with a log filled with explosive tags.

The log detonated as the tags flashed brightly, burning Chojuro's body and covering it in deep gashes. Yet the Kirigakure shinobi still stood.

_Is this what it feels like, when we go berserker?_

_**No wonder...He's not going down.**_

_Aim for the ankles._

_**Right, excuse me if I'm trying to avoid the giant hands and the...**_

_**SWORD.**_

Shinku dropped down and jumped to the side, as the Butcher's Cleaver abruptly smashed down with the flat of its blade on the spot he had been a second before.

_Is he trying to swat us down like a fly?_

_**What do we do?**_

_I don't know about Zabuza. If he's right or wrong...but we have to leave. I know that much. We need time to go through the summoning technique._

_**You always make things sound so easy...**_

Shinku twisted his body as he flung an explosive kunai against Chojuro. The tag detonated in the enemy's clawed hand, which acted as a shield.

_Is he going to tire or what!?_

Chojuro roared.

_**I think we're going for the 'or what'.**_

He swallowed a soldier pill.

Chojuro, the Kirigakure shinobi, swallowed a soldier pill.

The thick chakra burned through the ground as the monster grew two more arms.

"Fuck," Shinku murmured.

His speed, of course, increased.

Shinku's body blew up in smithereens, or at least, the log he replaced himself with did.

Chojuro snarled and roared as his body grew to match the size of his arms. There really was no escaping from—

"Rasengan!" the door of the tunnel blasted open, as Naruko —three of them actually— entered with a frightened look. "Shin-chan! This way quick!"

One of the Naruko substituted with him in a split second, before receiving as a reward a devastating kick from the monstrous Chojuro that popped her up.

Shinku gagged for air as he stumbled through the tunnel, the two Naruko standing next to him.

"Listen Shin-chan, we have to get you out of here. We're Kage Bunshin and we're going to pop soon, dad has us all out of here so you just need to..."

The tunnel trembled as Chojuro slammed his hands against the sides of it, before starting to crawl and push his body through, cracking the stone to make way for his size.

One of the Naruko couldn't finish her sentence, as a sharp plant-like arm pierced her through the chest making her pop.

Shinku began to go through the summoning technique seals.

The other Naruko charged with a rasengan against the plant-like being, only for him to disappear swiftly in the ground.

Shinku slammed his hand on the ground.

Zetsu chose that moment to pierce his hand through the floor, making Shinku grit his teeth as the porcupine appeared in a small flash of smoke. It wasn't a baby porcupine...but neither was it bigger than a cat.

"Summon me!" Shinku exclaimed, only for Zetsu's plant-like limbs to twist around his right arm. The half-black and half-white creature smiled with a feral smirk as Naruko spun around deftly, trying to strike at him.

Shinku screamed as the half-white part began to merge with his flesh.

"You're not going anywhere!" Zetsu cackled in glee, before Naruko's rasengan tore the creature's head off cleanly...that then reformed.

A plant-branch pierced Naruko's last Kage Bunshin body, and she disappeared in a puff of smoke. Her eyes were wide in shock as her last sight was of Shinku screaming in pain while holding his 'contended' arm.

Naruko's eyes widened as she received the memories of her last Kage Bunshin. She fell on her knees, tears rolling down copiously as she clenched her fists against the ground.

Sasuke held her shoulders gently, while Hanabi watched from close by, her hands clasped together in a worried prayer. The Hokage had already been carried to the hospital by his bodyguards, and thus only Shinku's three teammates remained.

"I...I don't know," Naruko croaked. "He did manage to summon but...but there was an enemy and he might have...I don't know..."

"It's going to be all right," Sasuke whispered. "If he managed to summon then he'll be safe."

"What if...what if he doesn't make it?" Naruko's words came out cracked and filled with grief, "It would be my fault. Again, it would be my fault!"

"I think it would be the Hokage's fault for once," Sasuke retorted, his voice low. He looked around. "He dropped us on top of the Hokage's monument."

Hanabi grimaced. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We're going back," Naruko hotly exclaimed. "We're going back and we're kicking asses and we're taking Shin-chan..."

"And what if they haven't captured him?" Sasuke retorted. "What if he is safe? You can't assume..."

"_**I DON'T CARE!**_" Naruko snarled, standing back up and pushing Sasuke backwards, "He's our friend, he's wounded and he's probably in pain wherever he is! I'm not going to let him die! I don't want to lose anyone else! I could care less about making new friends if the old ones have to die!"

She sniffled and sobbed, "He owes me a dinner," her voice cracked, "He owes all of us a lunch for scaring us out of our wits. So...So I can't stay here and wait."

"Naruko," Sasuke murmured softly, carefully nearing the girl once more, "It would take at least one day to get back there, running at top speed and without breaks. It would be too late by then..."

"So what?" Naruko croaked. "He's dead? Is this what you're telling me, Uke-chan? Shin-chan is dead and I have to accept it?"

"No," Hanabi replied, taking a deep breath as she shook her head and unclasped her hands. "What Sasuke-san means is...that we must simply have faith in Shinku-san skills. He...is made of tough stuff, right?"

She tried a small smile.

Naruko closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them again and forcing out an awkward smile. "Yeah, that's Shin-chan. He's probably coming back home right this moment..."

The summoning back wasn't working, even as fire burned through his skin and the creature appeared to be in pain, the shinobi still wasn't letting go of his arm.

"Why don't you make this easy for us?" Zetsu growled. "Stop fighting and surrender!"

"Fuck you!" Shinku snarled. "Fuck all of you!" he roared as he pulled his arm backwards, before slamming his kunai through the limb. Blood sprayed thickly as the fire chakra burned through the kunai's tip and throughout its extremity, before the bleeding sizzled out as Shinku's flesh turned a charred black from the heat.

The next instant, Zetsu growled as a piece of the white side of him combusted and detached, while the Konohagakure shinobi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Shinku reappeared disoriented, the vision cloudy and the right arm an unresponsive and charred black mass of flesh. He fell on the surface of the tree bark and gurgled out, coughing blood. Around him, he could see the porcupines hurrying along, their worried muzzles looking at him.

"Don't...send me back..." he croaked. The porcupines shared a look between them, before nodding firmly. "Ah..." in relief, Shinku exhaled.

He opened his eyes to the bleeding moon, the blood soaked desert and Inner's tired expression. His other-self dropped down next to him, as exhausted as he was.

"Do we want to die?" Inner murmured, gazing at the moon. "I never realized it before but...do we really want to die?"

"Aren't you here to stop me from dying?" Outer retorted.

"Yes, but...duty here, duty there... Aren't we simply trying to die in way that can be called 'heroic sacrifice'?"

"I don't know," Shinku murmured.

"We should leave the team," Inner replied softly. Only the wind filled with the bitter smell of blood breezed through Outer's hair for a while. "It's too dangerous. We're Anbu, Shinku. We're good, we're really good shinobi...but this is out of our scope. This is utterly out of our grasp. We should stop while we still can. How long until we are ambushed again? We have to stop harming ourselves. They will understand. Everyone will understand."

"Kakashi will kill us," Shinku murmured.

"We will kill Kakashi," Inner retorted. "We're strong, and we can take him on."

"If we survive," Outer replied. "We stuck a kunai through our arm, and I think we're suffering internal bleeding."

"Closed it off with fire," Inner snorted. "Sasuke is going to kill us first."

"You know, I think we should let Sasuke heal us first and only afterwards say we're leaving the team...if we do this," Outer mumbled. "You think they'll hate us?"

"Who? The 'Shin-chan is fluffy and must be protected' or the 'As your doctor, you shouldn't move an inch out of that bed'? If anything, I think they'll be happy about it."

"This goes down as an S-rank, right?" Shinku hummed. "I think I'll buy a house with a garden and a pool, and then I'll retire and become some sort of old cranky coot who exclaims 'in my times'..."

Wistfully, Inner Shinku began to whistle a small hesitant tune.

"Maybe we could try and talk with mom?" Outer murmured after a few whistles went by. "I mean...she can't still be angry at us, right?"

"What about the 'Danzo' problem?"

"If...If I'm no longer in Team Seven, am I still important to the rest of the world? I mean...I'm a good shinobi, but there are better. I think it's for the best," he exhaled, "For everyone."

Inner began to snore peacefully.

Shinku followed, after making a small and amused snort at Inner's expenses.

When he woke up, the peaceful chirping of birds and the soft snoring sounds all around him made him blink. His body was still painfully aware of its suffering, but warm breathing things that seemed to hold trembling quills as they slept covered him.

He had porcupines over his body. He was sleeping with a sheet made of porcupines.

It was endearing on one side. On the other, it meant there weren't any living beings around for quite a while. He couldn't risk going back and ending up in Zabuza's care or of whoever the enemy shinobi were.

He hadn't much of a choice. He had to trek his way back to Konoha from...wherever he was.

He just hoped he hadn't ended up in Iwagakure of all places.

Knowing his luck...he didn't really wish to test it.

The Yondaime painfully gasped for air as he opened his eyes to the hospital ceiling. Outside, Konoha's sky was turning blue as the sun rose higher in the sky. He stayed there for a few minutes, taking in the peace, the calm, before he realized there was a figure with bright red hair sitting on the chair at his bedside… and suddenly, he no longer felt safe.

"Dear," Kushina Namikaze smiled a bright, teeth-filled smirk, "What is this about leaving our daughter's friend behind?"

Minato swallowed his nervousness. "Kushina...it was an ambush."

"So you left a kid behind," the woman retorted hotly.

"I left behind a trained soldier of the leaf," Minato replied with a dry and sharp tone. "He knew and accepted the risks."

"You left behind one of the few people in Konoha that our daughter considers a friend," Kushina replied, shaking her head. "Tell that to her, would you? Oh right, she's not even in the house because you butted heads with her. Well, Minato? When are you going to be happy? After you ruin our daughter's life or before?"

"I'm not enjoying this," Minato replied hotly. "There was no time to get him! There were more than fifteen floors of concrete between us, and I didn't have enough chakra nor enough time! I made a call on the field, and that is all! Naruko needs to grow up, and if this will be her wakeup call then so be it!"

Kushina's slap hit him with nearly the same strength as Naruko's fist. He flinched when she left, closing the door sharply behind her with a loud bang. He stood slowly on his own feet, before heading towards the window. His muscles pained him slightly, as if he hadn't used them for a long while.

The door opened softly a moment later. Shizune timidly peeked her head in. "Hokage-sama? Tsunade-shishou said that if you're well enough to yell...well," she embarrassedly gazed downwards, "You're well enough to leave."

"I better get to work then," he muttered as he walked towards the exit, each step he took feeling heavier than the last one. "Can you stop spinning by the way?"

"Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked perplexed.

Minato's eyes rolled towards the back of his head, before he fell down on the ground limply. Blood began to pour out of his eyes a moment later.

"I need help!" Shizune screamed, opening the door wide to let others enter the room quickly.

Kabuto Yakushi dashed inside as fast as he could, just so _casually_ being on the same floor, followed by the Anbu who stood guard at the door. "What happened?"

"It has to be poison. Quick, I need the general anti-venoms first!"

Kabuto gave his back to the woman as he moved towards the cabinet, a small smile on his lips. The Anbu looked stiffly at one another, before returning to their post outside.

It wasn't their job to worry about the Hokage after all.

They served Danzo-sama...

...as did Kabuto Yakushi.

Shinku opened his mouth slowly as he ate a bunch of berries. A porcupine wobbled next to him, as tall as a large dog. Every now and then, it brought up its quills, showing its teeth and scaring off this or that curious animal.

Shinku stopped to catch his breath near a tree. The pain he felt was not lessening at all, but he couldn't simply stop and call for help. First, he needed to know where he was. He had to be close to the land of Fire anyway, because there were simply too many trees for it to be near the land of Wind or the land of Water. At the same time, he could be in the land of Lightning.

He really didn't want a repeat of the Kumo diplomatic accident.

"Do you have a name?" he asked softly towards the porcupine-bodyguard, who moved his head upwards to look at him. Somewhat, porcupines looked cuter and cuter the more he kept on looking at them. It really had nothing to do with them saving his life of course...really, it wasn't a Stockholm Syndrome. He simply...found them endearing.

The creature then nodded, and threw from his back his quills against the nearby tree.

The Kanji for 'Quill' appeared clearly visible.

The quills on the back of 'Quill' regrew within seconds.

"So...you're Quill," Shinku deadpanned. The porcupine nodded. "I'm...Shinku."

The creature nodded again.

"Uhm...are we very far from Konoha?"

Quill shrugged.

"Is a village nearby?"

Quill nodded again.

"Is the village allied with Konoha?"

Quill shrugged.

That was helpful. He hoped it was a city. It was easier to hide in a city than in a village, and a hospital was better than nothing at all.

They walked the entire day, the porcupine every now and then rolling into a ball to descend more easily cliffs or simply to rest his paws. He, on the other hand, had to grit his teeth and soldier on. He was glad he wasn't in any imminent risk of dying however. If he hadn't bled out internally by then, it meant he hadn't burned anything important.

He could barely breathe, but that was not important as long as he could walk.

The trees became thinner and the clouds grew darker. Thankfully, he reached the shelter of a cave together with Quill before the rain began to fall copiously. His eyes dozed off towards the other side of the dark cave, the tinkling noise of shackles echoing throughout the back of his head. He shuddered, the cold chill and smell of the rain made him feel sick.

He was alive. He was still breathing. He hadn't defeated Chojuro. He hadn't smashed his way through the door and yet once more he had been helped by Naruko, but in the end…he was still alive.

Would Hibachi still be alive in his place? He wondered how the boy was doing. Had he stopped being a shinobi like Ami? The girl hadn't recognized him, but she seemed happy now. Maybe he could stop being a shinobi too…maybe put up a shop of something…like warm blankets…

Quill nuzzled close to Shinku, before gently walking over his lap and covering him. The porcupine ended up being his heated night blanket, as Shinku slept while dreaming of selling fluffy warm sheets.

He woke up the next morning to the wet sensation of a tongue against the side of his cheek. His eyes opened to the sight of Quill happily waggling…well, his quills. Apparently, he had gone off during his sleep at least once, if the quill-filled birds in front of him were of any indication.

Therefore, he could use porcupines to play 'fetch food' and 'heating blanket'. He had half a thought that it was no different from having a dog…one trained to shoot out projectiles.

"Thanks," he muttered. His right hand didn't respond, but his left was enough to start a small fire. He ate the food charred to be on the safe side —it was sickening how his arm and the food he ate looked similar …but he simply swallowed down that thought before proceeding.

"Quill," Inner said quietly after two more days of traveling went by, "How far yet?" he muttered. If this kept on, it really would be easier to try to head towards Konoha. The porcupine didn't reply. He supposed it was obvious that none of them could speak, but still...

"Our luck punished us enough," Inner mumbled. His right arm was still unresponsive, charred and held in a thick cover of leaves. "Our arm's going to rot off if this goes on."

"It's not hurting," Outer remarked.

"Maybe because we burned our nerves while we were at it?"

"You can't burn the nerves. We'd be in shock by then."

"Well, sorry to say it Doctor Shinku, but how do you explain us not feeling anything? The arm is a stump. We've lost it. We also lost the armguard by the way…unless we melted it directly on the skin."

"I'm sure they'll be able to patch us right back up," Outer mumbled, "As long as we reach Konoha."

"Oh right..." Inner grumbled, "Because we'll reach it before our arm goes gangrenous."

"It's not going gangrenous. It's not hurting, it's not rotting and there's no sign of infection at all. It's just...not answering," Shinku retorted hotly. "Whatever that plant guy did must be the cause..."

Inner shuddered. "Urgh, he didn't want to let go. Damn bastard."

Quill watched puzzled the exchanging of words happening. Maybe the summoner was feverish and hallucinating...he had to go faster.

Naruko grimaced, clenching her hands. A terrorist group known as Akatsuki had poisoned her father, somehow, during the 'peace talks' in Wave. At least, that had been the general answer given to the population as to why the Yondaime remained hospitalized. While he remained unresponsively in Konoha's hospital under heavy guard, the 'interim' Hokage became Shikaku Nara, the Jounin commander of Konoha.

She gazed up at the sky from the swing she sat on, calmly letting it move back and forth with a simple push of her legs.

She really liked the swings.

Kakashi-Nii was back on his feet for some reason —he had been faking the extent of his injuries to get more time off— but she wasn't happy. Kakashi wasn't happy either, but for completely different reasons.

She clenched tightly on the swing rope, her feet tapping the ground. She hated waiting. She disliked being weak and unable to do something. On a nearby tree, Sasuke probably felt the same while throwing rocks against a tree bark. Hanabi sat on a nearby bench, a book in her hands. She wasn't actually reading it, as much as gazing every now and then towards her other two teammates.

Kakashi arrived walking slowly, an Icha-Icha book in his hand and his only eye crinkling at the sight of the three grieving ninja.

"Well," he said, earning the reaction of three heads swivelling in his direction, "Still nothing."

Their heads returned to their normal sorrowful 'doing nothing'.

"How about we do a D-rank?" Kakashi suggested.

"How about you go and die in a ditch, Kakashi-Nii?" Naruko retorted.

"Don't, or you'll clog the sewers," Sasuke continued, "Biological waste should be incinerated."

"Mah, mah," Kakashi chuckled. "You make it sound like it's my fault."

"It is," Sasuke replied. "You told Shinku to act like a Chuunin. If you hadn't, all of this wouldn't have happened."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "So, it's my fault he's dead?"

"Shin-chan isn't dead!" Naruko exclaimed. "He might be hurt, he might be wounded, but he isn't dead!"

"And why is that?" Kakashi continued his voice still carefree. "It's precisely because I made him act like a Chuunin that he is what he is now. I am the one you should thank, rather than scorn."

He shrugged. "So, about that D-rank..."

"Go to hell, Kakashi-Nii," Naruko snarled. "Only Shin-chan can make us do D-ranks."

"And C-ranks instead?" Kakashi said.

"How about a 'fuck you' rank?" Naruko retorted hotly. "I said it once and I'll say it again: I'm not moving until I see Shin-chan pass through Konoha's gates still in one piece."

"As his personal medic," Sasuke added, "I can't leave the village when there's the chance he might come in grievously injured and in need of healing."

Kakashi's lone eye went towards Hanabi.

"I would be a poor apprentice to abandon my teacher in his moment of need," Hanabi replied smoothly, gripping the book she was reading. "Hence, I have no choice but to remain here."

Kakashi sighed, before sitting putting his back against a tree. "Very well, then I guess I have no choice but to wait too..."

Shinku's right eyebrow twitched.

"Otafuku Gai," he deadpanned. Quill looked at him for a moment, and then nodded.

"It's in the Land of Fire," Shinku continued. "We could have gone directly to Konoha," he mumbled in disbelief. "How can you not know where Konoha is, and yet know where Otafuku Gai is?"

The porcupine shrugged, and then continued to walk towards the city.

He walked alongside Quill, looking around, as the people on the street seemed to be taking in the strange sight of a porcupine as big as a dog and a wounded shinobi.

Shinku didn't have to walk for long. He took a few more steps forward, and then watched as a side of the crowd parted ways to let a Konoha ninja team pass through. He exhaled in relief and even smiled lightly.

He knew those shinobi.

Asuma Sarutobi took a puff of his cigarette, as he heard the doctor ramble on about the dangers of gangrene and infection. At the same time, he also watched the boy's eyes narrow hard as he tried to move his left hand towards the kunai he probably carried in his sleeves. Carrying the boy to the nearby hospital hadn't been difficult —calming the porcupine that seemed keen on growling at the doctor rather than standing aside had been.

Asuma shook his head, and while the Doctor grew incensed, at least Shinku relaxed.

"His life is on your head then!" the medic yelled before leaving. Asuma took another puff of smoke, before looking at his three students.

Shikamaru was the first to catch the unspoken order. "What a drag," the Nara grumbled, "Chouji, Ino, let's go outside."

Ino stilled halfway through, before huffing and closing the door behind her. Asuma took another drag of the cigarette.

"Is that your pet?" he asked, gazing at Quill who appeared to be enjoying looking out of the window at the people passing by —if the waggling of his quills was of any indication.

"Summon," Shinku acquiesced. "I escaped with reverse summoning. They're nice guys," he chuckled. "I wonder if there are bigger sized ones."

"Is there a reason you don't want the arm amputated?" Asuma replied. "You can still be a shinobi with only one arm…and kid, I don't usually exaggerate but…your arm is in a bad shape."

"Asuma-san, how do you survive an encounter with S-rank shinobi?" Shinku muttered. "You run as fast as you can. You use all the dirty tricks you have in your mind. When you're done with those, you claw at the ground trying to come up with anything that can work and when even that fails, when you're absolutely and positively sure you're screwed…how do you survive in the end?"

Shinku chuckled. "You keep thinking that you're going to make it. You think 'I'm not going to die today' and somehow, somewhat…you either manage to survive or you die."

He gazed at Asuma with an empty stare. "I'm still alive, and I'm keeping my arm where it is. If Tsunade can't repair it, then and only then will I have it amputated. Afterwards, I'll sign my letter of resignation."

"Losing an arm isn't the end of the world, kid," Asuma retorted. "I know of some who managed fine without both or without a leg…"

"Asuma-san…how many of those you know survived to old age? How many of those risk facing S-rank shinobi on a daily basis?" he chuckled. "Do you have any idea what it means to be me? I'm a 'kid'? Asuma-san, I might be young and your bounty might be larger than mine…" his eyes narrowed and took up a cold glint, "But don't you fucking think just because I'm a kid I ate my meat through a straw. I might not have a bounty on paper…but I'm in the same team as the two persons in the elemental countries with the highest possible bounties. I wouldn't be surprised if the Akatsuki's intentions had been to capture a hostage from the start…"

He giggled. "Fuck my life, right? I mean, you know you're in deep shit when it's S-rank shinobi coming after your ass…I don't care if my arm becomes a charred husk…I don't even care if it goes gangrenous and I die along the way back home," he showed his teeth. "Because if I can't keep an arm attached to my body, what the hell of a hope I have to reach old age anyway?"

Asuma took another puff. "Well, if you're so convinced on it," he replied with an even tone. "If you're up for work after the shinobi service, I know a few people in the capital who are always looking for some bodyguards. They pay pretty well, especially the ex-shinobi."

Shinku sighed in relief. "Is there a bar close by?"

"No drinking until the stitches settle in," Asuma retorted. "Those orders you'll follow, right?"

Shinku snorted. "It's not like I actually want to die, but I know my body," he gazed at his right arm. "And I'm not going to lose my arm."

"You're nearly as troublesome as my students," Asuma said. "They'll be taking the Jounin exam soon, so it wouldn't be such a bad thing to give them some tips…"

"They make exams out of the Jounin-rank now?" Shinku replied.

"I might have some alcohol somewhere. Maybe I can mix it with juice so a kid can have a taste of it," Asuma mumbled.

"There's no need old man," Shinku remarked. "I wouldn't want to let an elderly go without his…and I hate plum juice."

"You drink plum sake," Asuma deadpanned.

"Saké is Saké," Shinku acquiesced. "How long will your team's mission take?"

"We were done and just about settled for returning home," Asuma said, "When someone came to get us about a wounded Konoha shinobi entering town with a porcupine."

Shinku blinked. "That sounds like the start of a joke."

Quill took that as a cue to snort and jump up at the base of the bed. Purring contently, it closed its eyes in a satisfied expression of delight.

Asuma rolled his eyes. He was about to say something else, but stopped as he realized Shinku had fallen asleep. He flicked his cigarette out and turned towards the door, opening it calmly. "How long until you can operate him?"

The doctor crossed his arms over his chest. "I can have that arm removed in six hours. I'm telling you this now: it's beyond repair. The rest of his wounds are easy to fix. He isn't even bleeding…I don't know why you refuse to…"

Asuma smiled in sympathy. He made a few specific hand signs to which the doctor took out a breath of relief. "Very well then…you have somewhere to put it in storage?"

Asuma nodded, producing a storage scroll.

"Can you make the anaesthetic a strong one?" he added quietly, "You know, to have a safe trip."

"I'll knock him out for a dozen of hours," the doctor remarked. "What name should I send the bill to?"

"Sarutobi Asuma," the Jounin muttered. Really, there was a difference between being suicidal and trying to act tough. The kid would do fine even without the arm.

He probably would never talk to him again, but it wasn't any of his business to begin with.

He'd let Kakashi deal with the consequences. He turned to look at the nearest window, heading towards it before pulling out one more cigarette. Hospital or not, as long as the window was open nobody could complain anyway.


	65. Unfortunate Life, Disquieting Thoughts

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Five

Shinku opened his eyes. The smell of antiseptic clung to his nostrils. The tenuous light of the morning sun filtered through the hospital's curtains. He wasn't in Otafuku Gai's hospital any longer. His right side felt numb –number than before at least. His left arm had something tightly coiled around his wrist and the metal rail of the bed, while his hand seemed into a plaster of sorts to hold his fingers straight and immobilized.

If it weren't for the fact he'd recognize the Konoha Hospital's ceiling by mere instinct —that was actually a sad thing to have as a skill— he'd think the enemy had managed to capture him. The room he was in had a couple of beds to the side, but they were empty.

His right side twitched. His right arm didn't move.

He didn't feel his right arm.

His right arm…

It would twitch, right? It was bound to twitch. It wasn't held in a plaster or blocked so...

It didn't.

His eyes closed. He didn't want to see it. He had the bile in the back of his throat already warning him of what he knew, of what he believed had happened and…and he didn't want to see it.

He opened his eyes.

There wasn't a binding around his right arm.

There wasn't a right arm to begin with.

Shinku stared in disbelief as the lump of flesh that was his shoulder, which abruptly stopped before reaching the start of the 'arm' side. He screamed, trying to free himself from the bindings that apparently blocked his legs too. He snarled, pushing his head upwards to bite at the restraints to no avail. The straps tightly held him. The door opened quickly as two burly nurses and a doctor stepped in.

Shinku foamed from his mouth as he tried to twist his body free.

"We'll have to sedate him," the doctor said, gazing at the scene with the same practical ease of a man who had seen countless cases like this one, "Hold him still!"

One of the two nurses –burly man in his forties— neared.

Shinku's demonic arm burst forth from his empty right side, burning the man's chest and forcing him backwards as flames began to engulf the bindings. The claw-like chakra appendage roared through a mouth on the side of his body, before the chakra came less to sustain it further.

Shinku pulled and twisted at the burning straps, breaking free and landing on the floor with a ragged breath. His eyes narrowed as he growled.

"_**ARM!"**_ he screamed, his mouth spitting out saliva. The doctor's hands came up in a try for a calmer approach.

"You need to calm down, Haruno-san," the doctor said, trying for a soothing tone as Shinku eyed him and the other two warily. The chest-burnt nurse stood slightly crouched, holding a hand covered in green chakra to the burned point. The other was nearby, as if to make sure he wouldn't take them unprepared again. "Your arm was gangrenous and had to be removed. It's best if you calm down, we don't want to—"

Two shinobi flickered in through the open door, ready to subdue him. Shinku slammed the back of his left hand against the first one's head, before using the shinobi as a mean to gain momentum and spin around him, kicking the other one on the face.

Holding the first attacker in a chokehold, Shinku snarled. "_**WHERE IS MY ARM!?**_"

"Please let the shinobi go," the doctor murmured, "We do not wish to hurt you, but you must calm down."

"If you want me to calm down," Shinku hissed through gritted teeth. "Move your fucking ass and get my arm back. I want my arm back where it belongs!"

The doctor stuttered for a moment, before exhaling in relief as someone else stepped in the room.

"Shinku," Sasuke murmured. He was wearing a doctor's outfit, complete with stethoscope around his neck. "How about you let the stupid man who doesn't know how to treat a shocked patient go," the shinobi held in the chokehold winced —not just from the pressure against his neck— and gagged, while Shinku kept his eyes narrow. "And we talk about what happened? I promise, I'll explain. If you want your arm back, I swear I'll reattach it personally…but first hear me out, all right?"

"I said no in the first place!" Shinku croaked out, his voice now trembling. "What part of that was difficult to understand!?"

"Shinku, please," Sasuke said in a pleading tone, "Just let the man go, and we'll talk. I swear if someone tries another funny trick like this one I'll personally burn his ass off. You trust me, right? I promise no sedation or anything else. Just let him go."

Shinku hesitated for a moment, before dropping the hold on the shinobi, who scrambled away from him as fast as he could. Sasuke took a deep breath, and then snapped at the other people in the room. "Out of here, now! You, get on the other bed," the Uchiha heir said sharply as the room emptied of all except Shinku, who clenched his right…no, his left fist.

Sasuke closed the door, before walking back towards the side of the bed. Shinku hadn't laid down to rest, but had simply chosen to sit, with his legs dangling from the rail-free side of the bed.

"Why?" he asked, his voice a mere whisper; his eyes fixed on the stump. "Was it impossible to save?"

Sasuke's stethoscope was cold as the Uchiha asked him to breathe in and out deeply. "Yes," the Uchiha acquiesced. "Tsunade said there was nothing to do. It wasn't just the burns, Shinku. You had foreign cells literally everywhere. It was as if a cancer had suddenly spread throughout your arm. There really wasn't another choice but to amputate."

"Are there…"

"No," Sasuke muttered. "There are no ways known to regenerate a completely lost limb. You can reattach fingers. You can use a corpse's limb and connect it, but…no, you can't regrow a lost limb. Unless you're Naruko, but she's a special case."

Shinku didn't say anything else.

"The Yondaime pulled a fast one on us," Sasuke murmured. "He had us all out of there before we could even try to come for you. Thankfully Naruko had some Kage Bunshin spread out and managed to reach you…"

"I held on to my arm for days, hoping it was salvageable," Shinku muttered. "I could have just chopped it off myself then, bled to death and be done with it."

Sasuke bit his lips. "Listen…I don't want to sedate you, Shinku. There are protocols about what to do with patients who lose limbs and are depressed, or who are a risk for the other patients. I don't want to have to use force. Just…lie down and try to think that you're still alive, please."

Shinku exhaled. "Then what?"

"There's a reason Naruko hasn't already barrelled inside," Sasuke said. "I made it clear you needed time to rest and…centre yourself," he bit his lips. "Listen...the Yondaime was poisoned."

Shinku closed his eyes and sucked in air sharply, but didn't say anything. "Naruko is already blaming herself. I didn't tell her you lost an arm yet, just that you were grievously injured. You know her, you know what she'll think."

"I'm done," Shinku murmured. "I'm done being a shinobi, Sasuke. I'm done being in Team Seven and I'm done with you and I'm done with her and everyone else. I'm done," he dropped down on the bed and closed his eyes. "I won't burn down the hospital, but I want to be left alone now."

"Shinku..."

"Just...leave me alone," he acquiesced. "Please, leave me alone."

"Very well," Sasuke muttered. "I'll let you sleep on it."

As Sasuke left, Shinku gazed towards the burnt bed nearby. It was a charred and dry husk, made of melted metal and what little remained. The smell of smoke filled the air. Nobody had thought about opening the window.

It slid open anyway, as a figure stumbled inside a couple of minutes later. Naruko snorted as she looked at the burned wreckage. They hadn't even moved it away. What type of hospital was it, to leave Shin-chan to sleep near a –still smoking— bed?

She gazed at Shinku's sleeping face. He looked gaunt and undernourished, as if he had starved for days. Probably he had. She wondered how long he had walked to get back to Konoha. Naruko hesitated for a moment, before bringing her right hand to touch a lock of Shinku's hair with an awkward face.

He didn't wake up, so she quietly moved her left hand to check his temperature. Her hand was cool when compared to his forehead.

Why was she doing this anyway?

Was she checking him for injuries? Hadn't they already treated him though? What would he say if he woke up then? What if he didn't?

He'd soon be back on his feet anyway, Shin-chan was tough like that. They'd take a few more D-ranks, and he still had to offer her dinner and a group-lunch. Maybe she'd offer a group-lunch too, since the Akatsuki had been after her to begin with.

She flinched. Zabuza had wanted Shinku...but it was her fault Akatsuki had entered the equation. She hadn't seen any of the enemy shinobi poison her father, but it was possible they had simply been too fast for her.

It was as her fingers delicately traced Shinku's cheek –he wasn't even squirming in his sleep— that she quietly moved the sheet aside. She'd give him the 'I fell asleep on the bed' joke. It was guaranteed to make him snort, and probably roll his eyes.

She stilled when she realized something was missing. Shin-chan's right arm wasn't there. There was a stump, but that was it.

Naruko froze on the spot, gazing at the stump.

"Nice, isn't it?" Murder-Happy Shin-chan chose that moment to open his eyes and snarl it out. "We lost an arm...wonderful, right?"

"Shin-chan?"

There was only venom in Shinku's words. "Not only did we lose an arm, but we were left behind. We weren't important enough to be saved then? Of course not, why worry? We're expendable in the end, aren't we?"

Naruko's shoulders trembled. "It's not true! I wanted to come back, I tried to save you!"

"I wouldn't have needed saving, if only I hadn't been in Team Seven to begin with," Shinku snarled. "I wouldn't need to watch my back in Konoha or outside, if only I had been in a normal team! You think everyone else goes through the same shit I had to go through? You think everyone else enters Anbu at thirteen because their sensei pressures them into it, in the middle of a frigging war!? I can't care less about what you wanted or tried to do. I care about what you didn't do," he hissed.

"Konoha owes me an arm," he growled. "You think I'll just smile and walk it off?"

Naruko didn't answer. She just looked downcast.

"I'm done being a shinobi," Naruko's eyes widened as she gazed straight back at Shinku, mouth open as if to say something against it. "Let me finish!" Inner barked.

Naruko gripped her knees strongly. "What do you think is going to happen from now on?" Shinku said softly, "You think it's going to end like this? The Akatsuki will keep on coming, and they'll keep on ambushing you. I can't face them like this, Naruko. I can't face them without my right arm. I can't fight them even when I'm whole without risking my life, so how do you expect me to survive when missing a limb?"

Naruko began to sniffle. "I'm done being in the team and being a shinobi. I already told Sasuke and now I'm telling you. It's over. I'm done."

Naruko closed her eyes. "Are..." she croaked out, "Are we still...friends?"

Shinku didn't answer immediately.

Naruko's heart began to drum faster as she waited for an answer.

Shinku exhaled. "If it were up to me alone," Inner snarled, "I'd drop off the face of the elemental countries. Outer wants me to tell you 'yes'...but know this," his eyes narrowed, "You're a dangerous friend to have."

Naruko wiped away her tears with the back of her hand covered in her jumpsuit sleeve, before making a small smile.

"I...I know," she croaked, "but...I'm also a dangerous enemy," she gripped with both of her hands Shinku's left arm. "And I promise you, Shin-chan," her voice was now low and threatening, "I'll make them all pay."

Shinku exhaled, gazing at the ceiling. "You have any ramen?"

Naruko's smile would have blinded a blind man.

Sasuke stared in disbelief at the nurse in front of him. "What do you mean, you can't find the arm?"

"It's...It's not in the obituary, Uchiha-san," the woman replied nervously.

"Arms do not simply walk away of their own accord," Sasuke growled. "I don't know if this hospital's security is actually catatonic or what," he continued in disbelief, "but I want that arm found, and I want it found sooner than yesterday!"

He hurried alongside the corridor with his eyes glaring daggers; the people he walked past gave him a wide berth as he ground his teeth in frustration. He stilled a second away from opening the door to Shinku's hospital room, but in the end took a deep breath and walked inside.

His right fist clenched even more.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sasuke, his voice utterly calm and frosty, asked.

Shinku, using his left, slurped down on a bowl of ramen.

"I was hungry," he deadpanned. Naruko sheepishly gazed sideways, scratching the back of her head and giggling nervously.

"A word, Naruko," Sasuke said quietly. Naruko raised an eyebrow. "In private," Sasuke added.

"See you later, Shin-chan!" Naruko brightly exclaimed, before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Is...Is everything all right?" Sasuke muttered.

"You mean, except for the fact Shin-chan lost an arm and he'll stop being a shinobi...and that it's my entire fault this happened?" Naruko's smile disappeared as she finished talking, her voice now soft and with a serious tone.

"It wasn't your fault," Sasuke pressed on. "It's your fault as much as it is mine otherwise, and Hanabi too is at fault then. It's a sad thing, it happened, it can't be changed."

"Can't...can't you really do nothing?" she whispered.

"No," Sasuke grimaced. "Tsunade took time to look at the arm afterwards. She too wouldn't have been able to save it. Amputating was the right choice."

Naruko gazed at the floor, her right hand resting now on her stomach. "It's all because of this, right?" she clenched on the fabric of her jumpsuit. "If...if I hadn't this..."

"Naruko," Sasuke said sternly. "It doesn't matter. What if we had been patrolling on a C-rank and a bandit got lucky and severed it? What if he suffered from an unknown technique and lost the arm because of it? He lost an arm. This sort of thing happens. You aren't responsible for this."

"Tell me then," Naruko murmured. "Who is?"

"No one," Sasuke replied. "This happens. It's life. He got unlucky, but he survived five years of war whole, Naruko...that luck had to end sooner or later."

"Why did he go to war as an Anbu then?" Naruko pressed on. "Why did he have to train through the forest of death? Why did he have to _die_ because of us? Why does he have to suffer repeatedly because of us? Don't tell me it isn't our fault, Sasuke..._because it is_. I...I can't fault him for leaving. I mean...no matter what words I spout in the end I couldn't keep them. I can't protect anyone, Sasuke."

"That's not true," he murmured. "You can't protect _everyone_, that's what is true."

"If I can't protect the people who are precious to me," Naruko snarled, "If I can't protect my friends, then what am I doing with my life? I'm meant to be this big hero of Konoha, the protector of the village...and I can't even protect my friends," she looked at Sasuke sadly. "I couldn't protect you from Orochimaru. I couldn't protect Shinku from Akatsuki. All I can do is go around the village with a smile on my face like an idiot and help old ladies cross the street."

Her fists clenched. "Just once, I want to be called a hero because I deserve the title, not because I was born to be one."

Sasuke exhaled. "It's highly possible...listen," he placed both hands on her shoulders. "The worst enemy Shinku has in this precise moment is _himself_. He's depressed, although he doesn't show it. He isn't fine. No matter what he says, no matter what he does, he isn't fine. You want to be called a hero by someone? Keep an eye on Shinku as if your life depended on it. He might try to commit suicide, he might find ways to harm himself, he might simply stop wanting to live for all I know...so find ways to keep him on this side of the barricade. I'm his doctor, I'm his friend, but..." he bit his lips, "I'm not the most cheerful example of 'my life sucks, but I soldier on'."

"Shin-chan isn't the type to commit suicide," Naruko retorted hotly. "Really, Uke-chan...I thought you were being serious for a moment."

"Look," Sasuke growled. "Inner would never commit suicide...but _where_ is Outer?"

"Uh?"

"Murder-Happy Shin-chan and Shin-chan," Sasuke deadpanned. "Together, they're Shinku. I don't know how it works, but what if one of the two decides to die? If he dies in his mind, does he die in his body too or what? I should call a Yamanaka and ask..."

Naruko clenched her fists. "You're saying stupid things," she exclaimed. "Shin-chan isn't like that at all! He'd never –ever— do that!"

She barged back in the room, grumbling. She halted mid-step. The window was open. The curtains flapped in the wind.

It was stupid. Shin-chan was in the bathroom of course, he had to be there. She flickered to the window in a heartbeat, gazing downwards and exhaling in relief. There wasn't a blood splatter on the ground...so he hadn't fallen down.

Sasuke opened the door of the bathroom. It was empty.

Shinku gazed at the bright sky. The clouds lingered by white and fluffy. He felt the twitching in his right side stronger than before. His left hand gripped tightly on the stump. He ground his teeth and groaned, taking another step through the hospital's park. So early in the morning, there wasn't anyone in particular. He stumbled on his next step.

Was it even possible?

He gurgled, as the twitching became something similar to an incessant itching of the skin. His back dropped against the nearest tree, his breathing ragged.

It felt as if something menaced to push out at any second from his chest and sides. He opened his mouth wide, gasping for lungful of air as he heard the cracking sound of the flesh ripping apart. Blood sprayed on the ground, turning the grass red.

The stump elongated slightly, before closing once more. The small strip of skin that had newly formed was milky white, as if it had never seen the sun before.

Was his arm growing back?

His eyes widened in surprise.

His arm _was_ growing back.

He chuckled. Shinku outright began to laugh maniacally. His arm was growing back! He'd have his arm back! He'd...

That didn't make any sense.

His eyes opened to the blood soaked sand and the blood dripping moon of his mindscape. He gazed at Inner's bloodshot eyes.

"It was...a nice dream," Outer croaked out.

"That sort of thing does not happen to us, Shinku," Inner snarled. "Do you understand me?"

"Yeah, yeah…" he murmured. "Where…"

"Since you decided to go to sleep," Inner remarked. "I took the liberty of going somewhere else. It was suffocating, staying in that place surrounded by all that pity."

Outer groaned, using his right hand to touch the sand. "I have a right arm in here…" he murmured in surprise.

"Of course you do," Inner scoffed. "Not what you want reality to be."

Outer winced. "What are we going to do?"

Inner snorted. "We'll find something to occupy our days. Maybe take up a hobby."

"No more fighting then?"

"With what and against whom? Arms don't just pop out of nowhere because you want them to! You heard Sasuke, there isn't a way to regrow lost limbs…and we'd be uncomfortable with a fake one."

A small weight settled on his stomach as he opened his eyes. Quill had apparently taken the cue to catch a nap on his lap. He gazed at the park's cheerful atmosphere and sighed. It had been surprisingly easy to get clean clothes out of the storage seal in his armour. Wearing them hadn't even posed a challenge. He didn't have to buckle up a belt to begin with, and zippers were life saviours.

He scratched Quill's chin, watching with an amused smile as the animal grinned in satisfaction. He hadn't popped away, but had waited patiently for him outside of the hospital. Watching him stand guard outside the hospital's gates had actually been the reason for him to jump out of the window.

'Regulations' be damned. He could live for himself now. He didn't have to catch up to anyone. He didn't have to train to become stronger, to survive against grievous odds.

He was free.

Yet, at the same time, he had no idea what to do with his newly found freedom.

He closed his eyes again.

"SHINNNN-CHAAAAAANNNNNN…"

Quill was a very keen porcupine.

The moment Naruko dashed in the park ready to slam a fist of 'reckoning' upon Shinku, he unleashed a barrage of quills while emitting a sharp screeching sound. Baring its fangs, the animal growled towards Naruko who had to halt her 'reckoning' fist as she found herself busy dodging.

Shinku blinked, inclining his head to the side. "Yes?"

Naruko nervously laughed, as Quill's 'ammo' reformed on its back. "Neh, Shin-chan…why the hell did you leave through the window? You could have left a note! We had Chibi-chan look for you and do you know how worried we were? No, really, I think Sasuke had an aneurism back there. If he doesn't turn the hospital in a high security prison by tomorrow I don't know if he'll survive the next heart attack."

"Good for him," Shinku acquiesced. "You need anything?"

"Uhm…Shin-chan? You know you should be in the hospital, resting?"

Shinku blinked, "Why? I'm fine now, right? No arm, no problem."

Naruko was just about to retort, but she closed her mouth and groaned. "You're going to get us scolded by Uke-chan, you know?"

"Don't really care," Shinku chuckled. "I'm fine where I am."

Naruko huffed, before sitting cross-legged near him. "Why are you here?"

Shinku gazed at the sky. "No reason. Why are _you_ here?"

Naruko grumbled. "Uke-chan nearly had a heart attack. My heart skipped a beat too. I mean, Shin-chan! You can't jump out of the window whenever. Really," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You'll just worry everyone if you keep acting like this."

"You'll get over it," Shinku replied. "Well, how are you?"

"Uh? I'm fine," Naruko pouted.

"You think my right side still qualifies as a shoulder to cry on?" he asked back quietly, "I mean…they didn't cut up to it anyway."

"Shin-chan…how do you do it?" Naruko muttered. "How do you let it…slide over you?"

"Oh…I don't," Shinku chuckled. "I just push it away, in a little corner of my mind, where there's a dark, black monster chained and held at bay by giant towering pillars," he smiled lightly. "And he growls and lashes out, and he screams and roars, but he is a part of me, and I understand that. At the same time, I'm weak and I refuse him. You know, it's easy to say for Inoichi that 'a sane person is a single entity' but…are we really sane simply because we're one mind in one body?"

He exhaled. "One day, those chains will break. One day, it will rip its way out of my guts and scream its hatred at the world. But you see, he's a part of my subconscious. He will be no different from me than Inner or Outer are. _We_ are Shinku. I'm one, two, three…and neither. I'm _all_ of them and they all form _me_."

"Hey Shin-chan…I've been wondering for a while now," she whispered quietly, "Aren't you copying me and Uke-chan? I mean…what you just said sounds just like the Kyuubi, and Uke-chan described you going berserker like a flaming Susanoo of sorts so…"

"They're more like cheap imitations," Shinku murmured. "It's not like I decided on that…it probably just happened along the way. No worries though…I'm done being a shinobi, so there's no way I could be accused of copyright infringement," he chuckled weakly.

"So…" Naruko hummed, "You looked up to us?"

He scratched the head of Quill. "I think…I think I _adapted_ to you, rather than looking up," he said. "There was always a risk, higher than average, for something to end up going badly. I had to be stronger. I had to be sturdier. I had to wear armour with thick plates I had to, because I wasn't good enough otherwise. I used all the tricks I had and fought with everything I got, and I understand it now…"

He looked at Naruko's eyes. "It will never be enough. Where you and Sasuke stand, the enemy you'll have to face…_they aren't mine_. Akatsuki, Orochimaru…they aren't enemies I can fight. I'm not underestimating myself, I know where I stand. I also know it's not enough and probably will never be. So…it's no use for me to even try now."

"I'm sorry," Naruko croaked out.

"You shouldn't be," Shinku shook his head. "It wasn't your choice. You weren't the one who chose the teams' placements and you did nothing to warrant me wanting to hear your excuses."

"Neh, Shin-chan," Naruko muttered, trying a small smile. "What are you going to do now?"

"Plan the barbeque with Wolf…I mean, Uzuki-sensei and Hanabi," he clicked his tongue, "Right…where is she, by the way?"

"Chibi is reading our lips and looking at us from a few trees back," Naruko chuckled. "She's cute, thinking she can hide from me."

True to Naruko's words, Hanabi appeared in a flicker and with a flustered expression.

"Shinku-san…" Hanabi murmured. "I'm sorry," she bowed quickly, "Namikaze-san forced me to tell her where you went."

"Oi!" Naruko's forehead sported a tick mark. "You make me sound like a two ryo bully!"

"You aren't one?" Shinku said, faking a surprised tone. "I thought you went ahead and stole lunch money from kids."

Naruko sputtered. "Shin-chan!" she whined.

Shinku just chuckled.

"I knew it," Sasuke's voice barged in a moment later as the Uchiha flickered close to Shinku. "You should be resting," the Uchiha groaned. "And not petting an animal! You don't even know where it's been! What if he dirties the stitches and they infect? And you two!" Sasuke's hands went to his sides, "I expected a better behaviour! Really! Do I have to be the adult in here!? You…"

Sasuke's eyes softened, "You idiots."

"Yep," Naruko grinned. "Isn't this fine anyway, Uke-chan? Come on, sit!" she patted the grass near her. "Take a break, have some fun and we're going to barbeque tonight anyway."

Shinku sighed.

He was never going to buy a house if he ended up offering for Naruko.

Thankfully, the first round was on Wolf.

Yugao shuddered as a chill crept down her spine.

It didn't bode well. It didn't bode well at all.

**Author's notes**

**No angst fest. Sorry. There's only Fluff and those too weak to see it.**

…

**Shinku doesn't have a right arm anymore and will leave the shinobi business…he will have fun as a civilian and put up a happy nice family and the world will be a better place…**

…

***snorts***

**Can you guess what's coming up? Nope…uhuhuhuh!**

***Goes to darkly chuckle in a corner as he prepares the next load of Fluff and starts filling the oven***


	66. Y-Earning Freedom

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Six

Yugao's right eye twitched slightly at the sight of the bill.

Shinku awkwardly chuckled as he put hand to his own wallet.

Hanabi fidgeted, before taking out a chick-shaped pouch -that apparently was her wallet.

Naruko hesitantly scratched the back of her head, before bringing up a frog-shaped wallet.

Sasuke simply sighed, and proceeded to pay his share.

The owner of the barbecue was now extremely happy. He could finally buy that ship he had always wanted. As the group walked outside, Naruko sheepishly chuckled.

"Well," she took a couple of steps, "It was very good?"

"Five pigs, two cows, four beefs..." Shinku said in disbelief. "Where do you pack that stuff anyway?"

"I'm a growing lady," Naruko pouted back, her hands to her breasts as she pushed them up and down for added emphasis.

"So," Yugao said softly, "Have you decided on what you want to do now, Shinku-kun?"

"Yeah," Shinku chuckled. "I've got a high enough clearance and 'expertise' apparently, so I'm starting work next week in the research and development department of Konoha."

"That's just next door to the torture and interrogation one, right?" Sasuke asked.

"And the cypher division too," Shinku acquiesced.

The moon brightly shined as Naruko and Sasuke went their way back towards the Uchiha compound, while he proceeded to walk together with Yugao and Hanabi.

"You know," Yugao muttered. "You always looked like the little duckling, stumbling on his own feet. I think it was endearing, really..." she made a small twitchy smile, "And now you have a duckling of your own," her eyes went to Hanabi, who was actually standing slightly behind Shinku.

Hanabi stuttered.

"W-Wolf-Taichou?"

Shinku chuckled back. "Don't know for how long though...there's little I can teach with only one wing," he brought up his left arm.

"There's a lot!" Hanabi exclaimed abruptly, clenching her fists. "You can teach me lots, Shinku-san!"

"All right, all right," he replied with a smile on his face. He gazed at the moon once more. It was beautiful. The giant white orb shone in the night, darkening out all the stars nearby.

A quiet and peaceful silence settled in as they walked, the three of them. They stopped in front of the Hyuga compound's gates, with Hanabi gazing at the giant doors with a slightly sad grimace.

"When will I see you for training, Shinku-san?" there was a hopeful tone in her voice, as if it could come sooner rather than later.

"Next week I should be settled in the new house," he replied, "You can come on the weekend or whenever you're free...it's not like Naruko and Sasuke won't do the same. Knowing them, they might be spying on us this very instant from a hidden spot."

Yugao sighed. "Shinku-kun, I doubt they would go to such lengths."

From a nearby rooftop, two dark shadows disappeared in a flicker.

Shinku just shrugged. "It's just a theory. Doesn't have to ring true."

Hanabi made a light bowing gesture. "Thank you for the meal and the company, Uzuki-san, Shinku-san."

She hesitated for a moment, as Shinku and Yugao smiled and waved her goodbye.

Taking a hurried set of steps, she gave a quick smack to the side of Shinku's cheek before disappearing inside with her heart beating to a rhythm of a hundred and more.

Hanabi exhaled in relief only when she was inside her room, a hand clasped gently above her chest. Her eyes closed, her cheeks turned red before she ended up jumping on her bed. She pressed her face tightly against the pillow, hugging it and rolling to the right and to the left while muffling her screams of embarrassment.

In the next room, Hinata softly smiled as she deactivated her Byakugan. She was glad for her sister's happiness. Differently from her however, she was awake for another reason. Her milky white eyes settled on the wedding gown, before she scrubbed at her eyebrows and returned to her reading.

She had more books on bride training to learn from...the marriage was soon, after all.

Shinku and Yugao walked side by side on the road. A dog barked somewhere far as a few cats meowed.

"You found work fast," Yugao murmured. "Are you sure you aren't overexerting yourself?"

"I had a little help," Shinku grumbled back. "Somehow, someone thought he could apply me while I was still unconscious in the hospital," he shook his head. "And someone else vouched too. Apparently, being vouched for by Kakashi and the son of the Sandaime is enough to get you a job anywhere."

He blinked. "Where is Kakashi anyway?"

"He had some training to do with a friend of his in the forest of Death," Yugao replied smoothly. "He said something involving a 'Monkey Hunt'."

They both looked at one another for a single instant. "There's no way he'd do what I think he's doing right now, right?"

Yugao shrugged. "Technically, Asuma should have respected your decision. You both share the same rank, and while he has the experience that still doesn't qualify him as your guardian, which was precisely what was required to override your personal will. He isn't brought to trial over the technicality that in the end the arm was unsalvageable anyway, and thus would have been amputated following your decision."

"Nice," Shinku grumbled. "You know, I'm actually starting to like Kakashi a bit more…"

"What's your working shift?" Yugao queried softly.

"I'll be doing the normal, average, boring eight-sixteen time bracket, weekend free," he smiled brightly at the notion. "It was my dream, you know? Average Chuunin paper pusher, comfortable job and normal house…and now I'm one-armed Jounin getting a boring job in one of the tucked away corners of Konoha. My workplace is in the middle of the woods near the weapon testing area to begin with," he shook his head in disbelief.

"You aren't actually forced to drop out of active service," Yugao replied. "There are prosthetics…"

"No," he shook his head. "I know some do a pretty good job in day to day working, but they are meaningless in a battle against an S-rank shinobi, and a liability at worse. I'm done fighting. I'll be paper-crunching and moving around brewing coffee," he chuckled. "Nice change of pace from the 'trudge in the mud and kill that guy near the tree'."

Yugao looked at him softly. "There are people willing to help, if you feel down. Never forget that, Shinku."

"I know," he chuckled. "I'm reminded nigh constantly. I'm fine," he exhaled. "I'm really fine. Losing the arm…it was a revelation I suppose. I better stop before the next time comes around and I lose my head."

They parted ways after a few minutes, waving goodbye at each other with a simple nod of acknowledgment. Shinku sighed.

Fumbling with his right hand to get the keys of his apartment, he quietly turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open. Entering, he flicked the light on and gazed at the mountain of cardboard boxes he still had to fill. He'd be moving the stuff into the new house soon.

Finding it had been easy, even if it made him feel a bit dirty with the way he had acquired it. The furthest away from Konoha's centre, the less a house cost. Apparently, Sasuke knew a guy who knew another guy, and for a very cheap price he had managed to acquire quite the hefty piece of land.

The construction crew hired to build the house had then proceeded to begin building upon it for a way cheaper price than buying an already built house.

The moment the plumbing was done and the electricity wired in, he'd be set with a nice two floors house holding a grandiose total of a living room, a kitchen, three bathrooms attached to three sleeping rooms, a guest room and a studio.

He also had a shed outside.

He could take up gardening at any time, now.

Shinku closed the door behind him, dropping the keys on the table and then closing the window.

He didn't remember opening it, but then again it was the first night he spent back in his old apartment. Opening the fridge, he quietly uncorked the bottle of sake and took a swig at it. Dropping his back against the side of the bed, rather than resting atop it, he took one more sip.

The alcohol sloshed in the bottle as he closed his eyes.

The pleasant warmth spread through his body as he tiredly let go, falling into a restful sleep. Tomorrow, he's keep up his packing speed. The next day, he'd start ferrying stuff after a visit to Inoichi —hopefully, one of the last ones. He had to learn his job's responsibilities afterwards, and then he'd have to check if he needed anything in the new house. There were many things to do, but with his stomach filled with meat and the alcohol to end the day…

Everything was fine.

The next morning, he woke up to the sound of someone cursing just outside the window. There was a light snap as the wire that worked as impromptu safety measure broke, and then a single kunai launched itself from the hole on the side of the window.

The window slid open a moment later, as Naruko entered with a kunai still dangling from the side of her right shoulder. She pulled it out with a gruff snort.

"This was my favourite jumpsuit, Shin-chan," she accused him, pouting.

"Why didn't you knock?" Shinku replied, incredulously.

"You…have no idea, right?" Naruko actually smiled one of her 'this is going to be so much fun!' smiles, before making a wide and overly exaggerated gesture for him to go at the door.

Shinku opened his door.

There…was an overflow of letters apparently. He took a step backwards as they all fell inside, making him bring his eyebrows to the top of his forehead as he watched a few of them flutter lazily in the air.

He grabbed one, using his index finger to open it while keeping it pinned still with his thumb and middle finger. "Uh…" he flipped it open.

Somebody had cut and pasted letters from a magazine on a white piece of paper, forming the words '_NARUKO-TAN IS MINE'._

He blinked, blearily. He turned to gaze at Naruko who sheepishly chuckled. "You don't read newspapers, do you Shin-chan?"

He emitted a half-strangled sound as he went for the fridge, ignoring the fact that Naruko seemed to have begun flipping through the letters he had received.

"Uhm…Oh," she sniffed one. "This one's a perfumed one! You have an admirer!" giggling, she moved it to another pile.

Shinku grabbed the boxed coffee and turned on the brewing machine. He was glad he just had to use a spoon to put the coffee inside the opening and let it brew by itself. It was…slower, but he didn't actually need two hands most of the time.

As long as he had the zipping option available and enough dexterity in his left hand, it was all good. Moving the bigger cardboard boxes would be a problem.

"Shin-chan, you making coffee?"

"You can't drink it," Shinku deadpanned. "I think I recall something of the sorts."

"Meanie," Naruko pouted. "Hey, you know they're looking at your door from the other side of the street? Do you have a large shirt?" she grinned mischievously.

"Are you trying to get me killed on purpose?" Shinku said in disbelief.

"But I might lose fans if I do that!" Naruko whined, "Think about it!"

"The answer is no," he replied quietly. "Do that with Sasuke."

"Already did," she pouted. "You really don't read newspapers at all do you?" she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was too young and they called it a sleepover," she sniffled. "They even sell toad caps nowadays in every shop."

"Toads? I thought it was a frog motif that you liked," Shinku remarked offhandedly, before pouring the coffee in a mug. Adding sugar was tedious, but once he did and spun the mixture, he began to sip on the drink brought down by the gods themselves to make the day a beautiful one.

"Kakashi-Nii wants us to do missions again," Naruko grumbled, her head now strangely inside his fridge. "You don't have any morning ramen?"

"Morning…ramen?"

"Yeah! It's ramen for the morning! It's milk or chocolate, and the noodles are made with pastries while the toppings are flavoured fruits!"

"They sell that stuff?"

"Yep! It's in the Naruko-approved corner! Shin-chan…where the hell do you shop?" wrinkling her nose in disgust, Naruko pulled out a cabbage. "What is this!?"

"Cabbage," Shinku deadpanned. "You know, it's a vegetable."

"Like the tomatoes?"

"The tomatoes are a fruit," he grumbled back. "I should have some cookies in the cupb—"

It was…strangely endearing. She reminded him of Quill, at least with the way Naruko's eyes all but shone while her hands opened the cupboards to find the pastry treats and dig in as if she were a famished soldier. If she had a tail, he supposed she would have waggled it.

He closed his eyes slowly. If he recalled correctly…didn't she have problems dealing with sugar rushes?

Well, it wasn't going to be his problem. He actually opened his eyes in surprise. It wasn't his problem. It was Kakashi's.

"You know you're the very best Shin-chan in the world, right?" Naruko said with sparkling bright blue eyes.

"I'll buy more next time around," he exhaled in defeat. Naruko's fist pumped in the air. The girl smiled in her victory.

"Yes! Nobody can resist my charms!"

"It's actually out of pity," Shinku replied with a dry chuckle. Naruko hung her head in a mocked depression. He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to be late for your mission?"

"Nah," she shrugged. "The fun fact about Kage Bunshin is that I share chakra evenly. So if I create five thousand, my chakra becomes one… fivethousandeenth?" she rolled the number on her tongue for a moment more, before shrugging once again. "Anyway, if I create only one clone, then she gets half. So, half of…let's say nearly infinite, is still infinite! And if she has another clone, then they can pop up more before popping up themselves."

"You aren't taking a mission outside the village?" Shinku asked.

"Yeah," Naruko grumbled. "But it's supposed to be a C-rank somewhere in the middle of nowhere," she pouted. "And Kakashi is going to be a few hours late anyway."

"You're taking the anti-suicide surveillance quite seriously," Shinku said neutrally, finishing the coffee and putting the mug in the sink. "You should open up a kindergarten. I'm sure you'd have the children covered in bubble wrap by the end of the day."

Naruko shook her head.

"I'm going to take a shower and change," Shinku said dryly. "I hope you won't empty my kitchen in the meantime and no, you can't try to barge in asking if I need help washing," he shuddered. "Last one who tried got a kunai in the guts."

Cat never actually forgot that little accident. Then again, it was her fault for saying something as stupid as 'Oneechan is going to wash you!'

Really, that woman had no sense of shame.

He made his way through the steps of washing with ease. He was definitively slower when it came to dressing up —putting on trousers with only one hand wasn't at all easy, but it was doable with enough speed and reflexes.

By the time he stepped outside, the pile of letters he had received was happily gone. The few that remained were apparently important ones, like a discount on ramen at a nearby supermarket —Naruto had taken the time to circle it— and a few important letters about the _Veteran_ association for shinobi who left active service because of injuries.

He actually had a discount now on a good half of the services Konoha provided.

"Tax discounts too," he mumbled, his mood taking a slight turn for the better.

"Just had to lose an arm for it," he snorted back.

Naruko had apparently taken the cue to sit down on his bed while holding a book in her hands. "Oi, you're doing anything after the mind screwing?"

"You'll be on a mission and I'll be moving boxes," he replied.

"With one arm?"

"You forget," Shinku sighed, "That you're not the only person I know who can lend a hand."

Naruko closed the book with a sharp snap, before inclining his head to the side. "Ah," she blinked. "You're asking Uzuki-sensei?"

"No," he remarked, gesturing with his head towards the door. "Well, I'll be off. You're coming or what?"

"I'd take the window if I were you," Naruko said, opening it up.

"Please," Shinku rolled his eyes. "I can always char a few and give the fault to my highly traumatized mental state."

Naruko giggled, shaking her head as she stepped out through the window. "Go get them, Murder-Happy Shin-chan!"

Shinku opened the door, closing it quietly behind him and locking it up. There wasn't a crowd, but a good dozen people were somewhat standing on the opposite side of the road as he descended the stairs from his apartment to the street.

He shrugged off the stares as he jumped on the nearby rooftop, before taking one more jump to the next one. Naruko had apparently gone towards the Hokage tower, since he reached the Yamanaka flower shop alone.

Stepping inside, he waved towards Ino.

"Hello," he said. "You're always working this early? No team missions?"

Ino grimaced, before smiling back. "Our sensei didn't feel very well this morning," she admitted. "He went to the hospital for a check-up. Do you know about a 'Thousand Years of Pain' technique? Sensei said something about suffering it a few times."

He shook his head. "I never heard of it before."

"By the way, is it true?" Ino asked, pushing herself closer before whispering. "You're going out with Naruko?"

Shinku blinked. "No," he replied with a shrug.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"No," he shook his head, "Why do you ask?"

"It was on Ninja Fashion this morning and on Konoha Girl too. They both said there was a budding romance in the air! I mean, she came to visit you in the hospital, she calls you 'Shin-chan'…"

"Is all of that on the magazines? Really?" Shinku whistled, "Talk about having a spy network."

"It's a shinobi village," Ino deadpanned back.

"Naruko calls Sasuke 'Uke-chan'," Shinku retorted, "And she's that expansive with all of her friends."

"She has few of those though," Ino muttered, before catching her tongue. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, you are right," Shinku sighed. "Let's talk about something else though. I should probably thank your team for hauling my ass from Otafuku Gai to Konoha…your sensei excluded, because I can't guarantee I won't try to poison him next time I see his face," he smiled kindly, thinking about a bowel-relaxing poison mixed with a haemorrhoid-inducing one.

"You don't have to," Ino replied quickly. "I mean, we didn't actually help you that much…and Chouji eats a lot."

"I've gone through enough S-ranks to buy meals for all of the Akimichi clan thrice," Shinku said, before chuckling. "And I have free time until next week."

"I'll talk it with the guys," Ino rolled her eyes. "Say," she muttered, "You did S-ranks? Aren't those for Jounin?"

"War time means missions get a boost on their pay-check," Shinku said. "And I am…well, was a Jounin. I'm out of active duty," he gestured with his left hand to his right side. "Thanks for not making a big deal about it, by the way."

Ino awkwardly scratched her right arm. "Ah, yeah. I was there when we transported you back. It was the first time I saw someone wounded that badly," she bit her lips. "It made me rethink the all 'become Jounin' part."

"Not willing to die for the village?" Shinku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…I think if it were something very important, meant to save a lot of people…and if I got a statue for it," Ino mumbled, "But I can't envision throwing my life away just for a mission."

"It happens," Shinku replied. They both lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, before Ino blinked in surprise.

"Oh, damn! Sorry, just a minute," she hurriedly ran upstairs, before returning down a few minutes later. "My father will see you now," she said.

Shinku smiled. "Well, off we go then."

Stepping inside the office, he sat down at the offered seat.

Inoichi carefully looked at Shinku, before the minutes began to pass by in silence. "Are you going to ask something?" Shinku finally said.

"What would you like me to ask you?" Inoichi replied.

"Are you angry? Are you repressing your feelings? Did you have any nightmares? Is there something I should know? How does it feel to lose your arm?" Shinku hazarded.

"Are you angry?" Inoichi asked.

"I was," Shinku acquiesced. "At first, I was. But…there never was a choice. You can't blame something you have no control over, can you? Life sucks, but you don't blame life of it. Sure, I didn't get to keep my arm but I kept my life. All the sacrifices and training I made to reach my place in life were for naught, but I actually ended up in my childhood dream job," he chuckled bitterly. "So, all things considered, I'm happy."

"You're…happy?"

"Yes," Shinku nodded. "I am."

"Your definition of happy is being without a limb, with everything you worked hard for destroyed and…working a boring job?"

Shinku chuckled, "Why, when you put it that way…but if you put it my way…I'm free," he whispered. "I'm free from the risks, the deaths, the suffering and the pain. I'm free from having to stay awake at night hoping there isn't some sort of assassin coming at me from the shadows. I'm free from the crippling self-doubt if I'll be strong enough for the next enemy that comes around, free at last from having to memorize the Bingo Book and searching for each nook and cranny in my armour to wield together. _I'm free_."

His eyes narrowed. "I already died once. I already paid the price. I'm done. I'm gone. I'm off. It's over. I'm _**free**_. Nothing will change that. Maybe tomorrow I'll go fishing. I know I won't be risking my neck in a C-rank that might potentially turn into an S-rank in the blink of an eye. Everything is _over_…and so I can start again," he exhaled in relief, "I can start again and hopefully, this time around, I won't have to see a girl I had a crush on turn into a living puppet that I then have to smash on the ground," he snarled the last part out. "So yes, I'm happy Yamanaka-san," he stressed out.

Inoichi grimaced. "I don't know how you make something each psychiatric wants to hear from their patients seem so menacing, unless you're saying that _precisely_ because it's what I want to hear."

"Why don't you do something about people with real issues?" Shinku remarked. "You know, people like Sasuke and Naruko? One has a crippling sense of self-sacrifice due to his guilt over his brother's death; the other has a terrible persecution complex that brings her to believe everyone who isn't a friend is an enemy just waiting for the right moment to backstab them."

Inoichi's eyes narrowed. "Is…Is that how you _see_ them?"

Shinku smiled. "That's how they _are_," he retorted. "And I'm not _stupid_, Inoichi. Kakashi, who's a dick whenever it comes to giving me praise, doesn't dare to insult my intuition. I'm not blind and I'm not going to turn my gaze to the side. If anything, I'm surprised you took so long to reach the real point…the interim Hokage put you up to it?"

"I don't know what you're—"

"Talking about, yeah, yeah…spare me those words," Shinku drummed the fingers of his left hand against his knee. "'Monkey hunting' last night between Kakashi and Asuma, as if the latter would actually suffer something like that from the former, nobody keeping an eye on me during the night —as if the two teammates I have would even let me bath alone if they could avoid it, _please_."

Shinku smiled. "The only question I have for you is this…_did you trail the little ant back to its nest?_"

Inoichi's hands clasped together. "Kakashi said you were good."

Shinku snorted. "_We_ _**are**_ good. Don't you ever forget it."

"We had two anteaters scoop around for potential problems," Inoichi acquiesced. "We found an ant who took the sugar," he continued, "And we found a possible nest…but it might be an infestation."

"You really like to use those metaphors do you?" Shinku replied in disbelief. "You know that where there are the ants, it's probable there's a snake too?"

"That is what keeps us on edge."

"And the reason I'm practically 'banished' into the woods is to keep me safe," he chuckled. "You know what? I don't care. I mean, I know it's probably the first time you get a lead on this 'inner' problem you have of yours, but I don't care. I'll let you use me as bait since it's not like I have a choice…" he smiled, "But I want the pay for it," he remarked. "So tell the Hokage that next time, he can always ask."

Shinku blinked, "Although if he had, I think Naruko would have tried to kill him." Shinku turned thoughtful, "Or maybe Sasuke would have gotten him first. What did you tell those two to get them to lay off my 'protection' for a night anyway?"

"Nothing," Inoichi muttered. "I think Uzuki-san took care of letting them think she'd leave you alone with your other teammate."

"She's fifteen," Shinku deadpanned in disbelief. "And I'm not interested."

"So the news about you and—"

"Neither," Shinku grumbled out. "I'm not interested. There are no romantic ideas in my head at all for the time being. I'm not touching the sentimental part of my life until all of my troubles are fixed."

"You said you had a…fresh start, didn't you?" Inoichi raised an eyebrow.

"I still have to talk with my mother," Shinku exhaled. "And after that, I'll have to get settled in the routine," he shrugged. "Once that is over, I'll even out the little problems and work my way through them. I'm…I'm on the right track, right? It's what the world demands, what society deems 'acceptable' after all. Live, make friends, have a happy life, smile, find someone you like, put up a family, die of old age," Shinku continued. "That's all that matters to the world, isn't it? It's what the majority think is right, _hence_ it is right and thus it proves when one is sane or not. I am perfectly sane. I have decided on a course of life, and I'll follow it. How can that be wrong, I wonder?"

"The transition was subtler this time," Inoichi murmured, "You're Inner."

"_**WE**_ are Shinku," Inner snapped back, "How hard is it to understand? Why do you seem so incensed on believing we have to follow the rules written on your psychology book or be bound by what you deem the norm of madness? There's chakra in the world. What if we are what we say we are? We are Shinku. It's not difficult to understand I hope, we've seen each other so many times already…"

"You're probably the most fascinating case of split personality I ever had the chance to meet," Inoichi acquiesced. "You're self-healing. It's supposed to be a nutcases' speciality, believing they can heal by themselves."

"Don't offend me," Inner warned, "I've gone a long way from being a stuttering kid who was scared of his own shadow," he smiled. "It's funny, but I think we'll be done with these sessions from this moment hence, right?"

It was Inoichi's turn to exhale.

"You aren't a danger for anyone around you. You aren't a threat to Konoha and you're out of the active shinobi lists…as long as I don't hear from you from a police officer…yes, this will be our last session. I just need to know…" Inoichi murmured, "How do you vent off?"

Shinku just smiled. "I have a nice comfy desert to scream in."

The creature showed sharp, jagged fangs and a wicked smile. The chains rattled, but the prison of stone and sand dulled them out.

"I suppose that's true," Inoichi nodded. "Well…please keep out of trouble."

Shinku stood up from the chair, giving a small nod of understanding towards the Yamanaka before stepping outside.

Ino made a brief smile at the smiling face on the other side of the counter. "So…there's a spot open on Tuesday of next week…"

"I'm done," he replied. "I'm apparently sane, or 'not mad enough' to require more visits. Unless I go on a killing spree, I won't have to see your father again."

Ino blinked in surprise. "Oh," her eyebrows rose, "That was…fast?"

"I think I told him precisely what he wanted to hear," he admitted with a small chuckle. "Anyway, I'm going to move pretty soon to a house near the suburbs of Konoha. It has a garden so I wanted to know about what types of hedgerows…"

Kabuto rubbed his eyes. It was a moonless night, and as he finished his late shift and returned towards his house, he couldn't help but wish he didn't have to make such long shifts. Yawning, he closed the door behind him and then walked down in the cellar, where he quietly turned around a small pebble on the furthest wall.

The wall slid without making a noise, revealing a narrow and dark passage. It closed behind Kabuto as he stepped downwards, torches flickering to light as he reached a corridor that went on for a few minutes. It then opened into a larger room, where a large tank containing a bright white snake stood. The snake slept, the fluid keeping it asleep.

Kabuto smiled, bringing his right hand to touch the glass.

On a nearby desk, an arm stood opened and exposed with the bone visible through the ripped flesh.

Leaving his _master_ to sleep, he moved towards the limb. The fact that caught his attention, the one thing that made him steal the limb from the obituary…was the small blossoming _flower_ at the tip of the hand's index.

He'd dissect the hand some more, trying to understand what made it tick and twitch, what made it work and what made it wither.

And if that didn't work…he'd dissect the living specimen that held such a limb.

Everything was, after all, for his own sake. He had no face, he had but masks to cover his naked self, he had no identity…but what caught his interest…

Oh, he would have that.

He _always_ did.

**Author's notes**

**Shinku's sane-ish!**

**The world is a happy place!**

**Orochimaru is sleeping in a tank.**

…**How the hell did **_**that**_** happen?**


	67. Overall, Life Doesn't Change Much

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Seven

His mother had moved elsewhere. Shinku realized that when he knocked at the door and was met with an elderly woman who also was a bit deaf on the side.

He bid the woman goodbye, returning to the busy streets of Konoha. He walked slowly, savouring the moment. Reaching for the hospital, he waited patiently just outside of the gates where two Anbu had apparently been stationed just recently —Sasuke's words on enhancing the security had struck a nerve, judging by the amount of shinobi there as guards.

Kabuto emerged from the hospital with a small smile on his lips. "So, how far are we going?"

"Not much," Shinku replied, "I need a hand lifting the boxes and putting them in a storage scroll. Thanks for helping me out," he acquiesced, receiving a wave of the hand in dismissal from the older Chuunin.

"What else are friends for? So, you're moving away from the centre of Konoha? Are you sure you're up to being alone so soon?"

Shinku snorted. "Alone is a hefty term," he hummed. "And it could have gone worse. At least I still have my legs and my other arm."

"Ah, yes. Congratulations are in order then?"

Shinku blinked.

"What?"

"You aren't moving to the suburbs with your girlfriend for added privacy?" Kabuto smiled as he inclined his head to the side.

Shinku spluttered. "I don't have a girlfriend, and the newspapers print rubbish most of the time."

"I'm sure the problem will solve itself with time," Kabuto replied. Shinku opened the door of his apartment, letting Kabuto inside. Some of the cardboard boxes were full, while a few remained half-empty. Helped by Kabuto, he managed the feat of sealing filled ones inside a single storage scroll. "That's the easiest part done," he muttered. "The rest I'll haul over when they'll be done with the house."

"You don't need a hand unpacking?" Kabuto asked in surprise.

"I don't want to waste your free time, Kabuto," Shinku replied, wiping the sweat off his brow with his left hand. "I'm sure you've been swamped at work."

"Uhm…It wouldn't be much of a hassle…in exchange for dinner at the Dumpling stand down the corner?"

"Agreed," Shinku nodded. "If you're sure, that is. I mean…there's a lot of stuff to unpack and…"

"It's not a problem Shinku," Kabuto smiled. "We're friends after all."

Storing the scroll inside his jacket, Shinku gave one last look at the nearly desolate apartment he had lived in for…very little, actually. Maybe he had lived in there for a few weeks at most.

The comfortable silence between the two shinobi lasted only until Kabuto asked in a quiet and subdued tone.

"I wondered for quite a while," he said. "Who could be the strongest between us? Now…I sort of feel cheated," he exhaled. "I know it sounds selfish, but I actually want to know if I would have managed to win the tournament had we fought and had the siege not happened."

"Find a way to give me back my arm," Shinku replied, "And we can have our little match."

"Ah, if I managed that, I'd be hailed as a genius," Kabuto chuckled. "I'm not that good. It would be something out of Tsunade-sama's mind rather than mine."

"With the arm back I'd have to say goodbye to the Veteran discount though," Shinku murmured. "I mean, it's a fifty percent off for the cinema and the grocery list!"

"And tax deductions," Kabuto pointed out with a small grin. "You can't forget the tax deductions."

"Right! And being out of active status means a lot more free time," he gazed upwards to the sky. "I'll take up gardening in my spare time."

Kabuto's ears twitched. "You're already going to work?"

"Mah," Shinku grumbled, "It's not that big of a deal. Glorified pencil sharpener and paper pusher…but it's a job I can envision will not get me killed no matter what happens."

"In the Hokage Tower?"

"No, Research and Development," Shinku grinned. "It's in the middle of the woods, with friendly neighbours like the Torture and Interrogation department and the Cypher Analysis squad."

"Well, at least you won't get bored too much."

"I suppose so," Shinku whispered. Taking to the rooftops, they flickered for fifteen minutes at full speed, before landing to catch their breaths in a nearby square. "It's actually further than I thought…how big is Konoha anyway?"

"Uhm…" Kabuto turned thoughtful. "There are fifteen thousand active shinobi of the leaf, plus a good chunk of retired or inactive ones…their families, the civilian section…" tapping the side of his chin, Kabuto deadpanned. "There are probably one hundred thousand, with the numbers growing."

"Think about having to do this job without a storage scroll," Shinku said.

"Is that a benefit of being a Jounin?"

"Uh?"

"The storage scrolls, are those a benefit of being a Jounin?"

"Ah…No," he awkwardly said. "Naruko made them for me a while ago. I know Jounin get a few…but I never actually requested them."

"I see," Kabuto replied. They took a leisurely pace to catch their breath, before speeding up once more. It took them another half an hour to reach their intended destination. The houses had grown sparse, replaced with a few cottages or villas that seemed overrun with wild weeds.

"Ah…after the siege, everyone felt safer closer to the shelters than further away," Kabuto commented. "I suppose you got the house for cheap?"

"The terrain actually," Shinku replied. "I had the house built ground-up."

"Uh, talk about having a dream house," Kabuto chuckled. The road became a simple dirt trail that took a turn around a small hill, before reaching a shoddy and rusty gate left open. "Are we still in Konoha?"

"It's near the training grounds," Shinku admitted. "And those are within the walls. Training ground seven even has a river…I have a pond."

"Nice to know," Kabuto replied. "Are you close to your workplace at least?"

"Yes, that's the best reason I had to buy it," he smiled. "Five minutes, and I'm already at my desk."

The workers mowed down the garden during their work, since by the time they reached the front door it resembled a training ground rather than an actual house's flowerbed.

Opening the door, Shinku moved inside. The smell of resin and new filled his nostrils, as he carefully opened the storage scroll within his jacket. "We can do the lower floor first and then move to the upper one."

Kabuto nodded, agreeing.

Shinku began to unpack, whistling a catchy tune.

Kabuto's shoulders trembled as his tongue licked the inner side of his teeth. He wouldn't cut Shinku yet. He had a lot he could learn from him as a living specimen. Soon, however, soon he would finish testing the arm. Then…then his urge would manifest again, and when it did…

He would have the perfect mean to scratch it.

Naruko slammed the Rasengan in the sides of the giant boar, tearing it apart as the entrails sailed in an arc all around the clearing. She quietly picked a piece of…probably guts or innards, and flicked it away from her hair.

"Boar number two, done! Dattebayo!" she exclaimed, turning to gaze at where Hanabi just then dealt with her own. Sasuke had most fairly finished first.

"Nobody's wounded?" Sasuke asked, just as Kakashi closed his Icha-Icha with a bored look.

"Nope," the Jounin-sensei said.

"How many are there still, Kakashi-Nii?" Naruko asked, looking at the sun's position in the sky.

"How many do you see around here, Hanabi?" Kakashi asked the Hyuga, who nodded before activating her Byakugan once more.

"There aren't any more for as far as I can see, Hatake-sensei."

Kakashi smiled. "Such a wonderful little girl who knows how to respect her elders," he dropped a candy in her hands, before patting her head. "Good girl, good girl."

"I think that borders on the sexual harassment," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Oi, Uke-chan," Naruko retorted. "Last one back home pays dinner?"

"I'm not going to challenge you," Sasuke replied with a snort. "If we hurry we might be back for dinner though."

"What? Nobody wishes to camp out under the clear night sky?" Kakashi said with his only visible eye twinkling.

Hanabi actually scuttled closer to the other two. "No one?" Kakashi insisted.

"Well…it's Kakashi-Nii's duty to tell the client we finished the job…we'll go on ahead then," Naruko said with a bright smile. "Come on Chibi-chan!" Naruko gripped on Hanabi's wrist, before pulling her firmly on her back. "We're heading ahead!"

In a cloud of dust, they departed. Sasuke grumbled, before giving chase. Hanabi screamed in shock, holding tightly to Naruko's neck as they dashed across the countryside.

"N-Namikaze-san!" Hanabi exclaimed, "Please…stop!"

"There's no 'Namikaze-san' here Chibi-chan!" Naruko retorted, laughing heartily. "Come on, you don't want to get back as fast as possible?"

"N-Naruko-san," Naruko huffed, shaking the Hyuga a bit as the girl eeped. "I ca-can run!"

"Yeah, but Uke-chan would catch up! And what's the fun in having you pay for dinner!?"

"I'm…not…slow!"

"Sure, but you aren't fast either Chibi-chan!" Naruko retorted. "Oh…maybe you're embarrassed I'm wriggling your ass?"

Hanabi turned crimson as she felt Naruko's hand actually cop a feel.

"Kyah! Let me go! Let. Me. Go!"

"Ehehehe," Naruko lecherously giggled, "Such firm round mounds! Oh, I'm inspired! I'm not the goddaughter of the Honourable Super Master Pervert for no reason! Yes, yes! I can feel the inspiration blossom!"

"I…I'll tell Shinku-san if you don't stop!" Hanabi blurted out.

"Oi!" Naruko stopped wriggling the girl's ass, much to her relief. "Don't you go and tell Shin-chan! He'd like…uhm…" Naruko turned thoughtful. "Nope, got no idea why I should stop."

With another muffled 'Kyah' from Hanabi, the wriggling began again.

"P-Please stop this!" Hanabi exclaimed. "It's indecent!"

"What? Nope! You know that massaging the breasts makes them grow bigger? So if I massage your butt, it's going to grow too!"

"I don't want a…a large butt!" steaming from her ears, Hanabi bit her tongue. "Ouch! I bit my tongue!"

"Aw, Chibi-chan shouldn't speak that much then," Naruko chuckled. "Want a bridal style carry?"

"I want…to walk on my legs, Naruko."

"See?" Naruko said, stopping so suddenly the back of her head slammed against Hanabi's forehead. "It wasn't that difficult to say my name without…"

The impact knocked Hanabi out cold.

"Oh, well," Naruko shrugged. "I'll just have to carry her and—"

Sasuke passed by in a blur of speed.

"SEE YOU IN KONOHA, DOBE!" he had the time to yell.

"OI TEME! YOU DAMN CHEATER!" Naruko shot back, starting to run once more.

Shinku wiped away the sweat from his forehead, pushing with his left arm a chair alongside the floor. Exhaling in relief, he dropped down on the chair once he brought it close enough to the table of the kitchen. It was a spacious place and even with the latest electrical outlets that money could buy installed, it still felt big.

Kabuto took the seat opposite of him, catching his breath.

"Was that…the last object?" Kabuto asked.

"Yeah…" Shinku sighed. "I don't have the plumbing on yet…I think."

"How about we head back for dinner then?" Kabuto said with a smile. "Your offer, right?"

"Sure," Shinku nodded. "Although now the dumpling stand down the corner seems more like an hour away," chuckling, they both stood and left.

"You're not afraid of thieves?" Kabuto asked.

"It's a shinobi village and this far away from the centre? I don't think any thief worth his salt would steal from me. I can always stick Naruko against them," he shook his head. "I wonder how they're doing with their mission."

He gazed at the night sky, already twinkling by. "They've probably finished already."

The dumpling shop held true to the hype, and as he and Kabuto ate in a corner of the shop —the owner had even asked if he needed a fork, but he had shaken his head— the night went by.

Feeling bloated and satisfied, Shinku limped slightly next to Kabuto.

"And so I finally managed to get the flak jacket…not the active service one but at least I did a good job in the writing part. I'll never be a field medic…but I can still save lives. One day…promise not to laugh," Shinku nodded, "I want to become as good as Tsunade-sama in the field of medicine, so that I'll be able to save more."

Shinku smiled. "That's quite the dream," he replied.

"And what about you?"

Shinku frowned for just a second, before replying with a shy glance. "Nothing that high," he flexed the fingers of his left hand. "I suppose…fix my family situation and then see where that goes."

"That's less of a dream and more of a fact," Kabuto remarked. "What next?"

"Family?"

"I'm saying after all the obvious things —you know, something big. Everyone has a _dream_, something to strive for but that is nigh impossible to realize."

Shinku turned thoughtful, scratching his chin with his left hand as he gazed at the floor as if lost in contemplation.

"Nigh impossible?" he murmured. "I suppose…" he looked at Kabuto. "Promise not to tell anyone?"

Kabuto gave him a solemn nod.

"I want the dead to return to life," he whispered out. "I know it's stupid, but…"

"Oh," Kabuto blinked. "Isn't there…the Edo Tensei for that?"

"The _what_?" Shinku choked on his saliva.

"As a medic-nin, we're entrusted with certain techniques and told others which are prohibited. For example, I know of techniques to make a dead body move, or others to stich a fake face on the corpse of someone to prepare a dummy corpse for fake deaths," Kabuto said. "There are also forbidden techniques too, which aren't explained nor taught. One of the old guardians of the Daimyo for example knew of an Earth technique capable of bringing back the dead, just like the Edo Tensei does the same thing…albeit at the prize of a human life."

"You can bring back the dead?" he blinked. "Wait," he turned thoughtful. "_You can bring back the dead?_" he asked in a now shocked tone.

"Yes," Kabuto replied. "It's…not a well-known thing, but it is possible. There's a reason corpses are heavily guarded after all. There are techniques to make them move, talk, use techniques…why else are you tasked with disposing of Anbu corpses in the field to begin with? Of course, the one technique that actually achieves a full-out 'return' to life is the Edo Tensei, and it's prohibited for a reason."

"The…life to sacrifice?"

"Yes, but also the fact that it doesn't actually gain you control of the deceased, and the deceased isn't able to move properly. It would be like…waking up from a coma, with all your limbs atrophied. That's how it's described anyway. I never saw it happen, and I hope I never will," Kabuto shuddered. "That's quite the creepy argument…can we talk about something else?"

"You're one who spoke of that technique," Shinku deadpanned.

"Well…I thought you needed another dream," Kabuto pointed out. "It's best to let the dead rest after all."

"Ah," Shinku scratched the back of his head. "So that's no good, uh? Very well then…I hope someone will come up with a way to give me my arm back."

"That's too little," Kabuto said. "Something bigger."

"Too little?" Shinku raised an eyebrow. "It's my limb, you know?"

"Yes, but it's not something impossible. With the way things are progressing in the hospital, maybe you'll have an arm back in a few years rather than never. Tsunade-sama is one of the best medical experts there is, and most of the time, she spends it researching."

"Are you having fun shooting down my dreams?" Shinku asked with an incredulous tone. "Very well, I kept this as the spare of the spare," he took a deep breath. "Hold your horses, because this is an extremely high and far-fetched dream of mine."

Kabuto chuckled. "Hai?"

Shinku nodded sagely, before saying. "Create an impenetrable suit of armour that is easy to move in and can stand up to S-rank shinobi firepower...and make it an everyday wearable object."

Kabuto stared. He began to giggle a moment later. "I see…" chuckling louder, he shook his head in disbelief. "I thought it would be 'becoming Hokage' or something of the sort."

Shinku shook his head. "I'd need to be an active shinobi for 'becoming Hokage', not that I want the job…and with power comes responsibility. I'm fine with what I have."

"You're ambitionless, aren't you? You're the complete opposite of someone I know," he added softly. "I wonder, what would you do with power?"

"Uh?"

"If you had power, enough to rival the 'Hero' of Konoha and the Uchiha heir…what would you do with it?"

Shinku half-closed his eyes, acquiring a serious voice. "I think…I wouldn't use it. That much power…it's a curse, rather than a boon."

His eyes softened up. "It attracts attention, pain…being _gifted_ power like that, without earning it…it's unconceivable for me. Now that I know that chasing after their shadows was nothing more than a childhood dream, I can find my own path. That…That's what really counts."

"A path of mediocrity, then?" Kabuto, his voice calm and controlled, asked.

"Aren't we the ones who decide what is 'average' and what isn't? A lot of people dream of achieving a path that brings them to high places…but they never achieve it. If they dreamt of reaching for an easier path, wouldn't they be happier? Why aim for the impossible? Better to aim for something you can reach, and then try again with something slightly higher. Taking things gradually is better. The people who are happy with what they have…they are the happiest."

"I grew up in an orphanage just a bit of a distance away from Konoha before being adopted," Kabuto said suddenly. "I considered my caretaker my mother," he gingerly touched the side of his glasses. "She bought me these when she realized I couldn't see very well. The orphanage had little money, but she gladly paid for them out of her own kindness," he shook his head. "She was kind and happy just like that. She didn't need a reason or an ulterior motif," he grimaced. "She was the one who gave me the name 'Kabuto'."

Shinku said nothing, letting his friend talk.

"She ended up volunteering for the war against Kumogakure, and she died on the battlefield," Kabuto continued softly. "She did it so that the children of the orphanage wouldn't have to worry about money for a while. I still wonder to this day…why would she do that? Why sacrifice her happiness?"

"Maybe she simply loved the children more than she cherished her happiness," Shinku muttered. "It's normal to do things that we find hateful for the people we love, gritting our teeth and marching on."

"I…I'm sorry I dropped the mood so low," Kabuto whispered. "I don't normally speak about it…but it somehow felt all right to say it now," he awkwardly smiled. "I don't even know why."

"The best way to deal with pain is to talk with someone else about it," Shinku remarked. "That's what my psychiatric said."

He smiled briefly. "I'm all ears if you need someone to talk to."

Kabuto smiled back. "Thank you."

"What else are friends for?"

A few minutes later, and a heavy rumbling made both of them still. The pebbles on the road began to tremble, as something fast appeared to be approaching.

"Kabuto, dodge," Shinku said with a serious voice. The next instant, he flickered to the rooftop, leaving behind a log. Naruko twisted her body —Hanabi on her back still unresponsive— and jumped on the roof, executing a perfectly pitched mid-air tackle of Shin-chan's midriff.

"SHIN-CHAAANNNN!"

"GAH!" Shinku exclaimed, wincing in pain as the girl laughed while rubbing her face against his stomach. Hanabi, no longer held, continued flying forth thanks to the achieved momentum. Sasuke hastily grabbed her with a Susanoo's hand, before dropping her gently on the roof.

"Caught you!" Naruko meanwhile said, "Uke-chan and I missed you so much! And Hanabi moaned your name too!" grinning diabolically, she stood back up helping Shinku on his feet. "She was all like 'No, utterly sexy and beautiful Naruko-chan! Please, don't tell Shin-chan how much I love him!' and I was 'True love must be yelled out loud to the skies and beyond!' and she fainted," the blond haired girl pointed to Hanabi. "She's still out cold. Don't think any funny stuff, all right?"

"You're done?" Shinku winced, holding his sides with his left arm. Sasuke snorted, moving closer to heal his ribs.

"You should really learn to keep your Dobe-Strength in check, idiot," he looked towards Shinku. "And you need to be faster with the substitution log."

Chuckling, he gave a nod back in response. Kabuto jumped his way up to the rooftop. "Is everything all right, Shinku?"

"Sure," Shinku replied.

Naruko's eyes narrowed.

Sasuke exhaled in disbelief.

"Neh, Shin-chan…" Naruko muttered, "You know you can't be the Seme to Uke-chan if you have a boyfriend already. I won't permit a multiple male orgy!"

"Come…again?" Kabuto said, hazarding a nervous smile as a sweat drop fell from his head.

"Naruko," Shinku rolled his eyes. "This is Yakushi Kabuto, the friend I said would help me out with the moving," he continued. "Kabuto, these are Namikaze Naruko, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hanabi…who's still knocked out cold."

"You work at the hospital," Sasuke said, his eyes sharpening up. "You're the son of the head of the staff, right?"

"Hai, Uchiha-sama," Kabuto replied with a nervous smile.

"Thank you for keeping an eye on this worrisome guy here," Sasuke continued, _patting_ Shinku on the head. "I thought for sure I'd see him again in the hospital, what with his record of getting wounded."

"Why don't you wake up Hanabi?" Shinku replied with a twitching eyebrow, moving near the still downed girl.

"So, how did you get to know each other?" Naruko asked, her voice the complete picture of innocence…and thus utterly suspicious.

"How?" Kabuto blinked, "Uhm…how indeed…I think the tournament?"

"I can't recall properly," Shinku remarked. "It just happened, I think."

Hanabi came to her senses, wobbling back to her feet. Grabbing a hold of the offered hand, she pulled herself up and into the awaiting chest that welcomed her face. The smell of dumpling and plum-flavoured saké filled her nostrils, but it wasn't a bad smell. Still half-asleep, she gave another hesitant sniff. She was hungry, now that she thought about it.

"Hungry?" a voice asked from above her head. A very familiar and male voice asked.

Her eyes widened completely. She gripped tighter on the jacket, her eyes slowly moving upwards to meet the crimson ones of Shinku. "You all right, Hanabi?"

"Ah," Hanabi breathed. "Ah," she breathed louder. "Yessir, sir!" she stood to attention sharply, making a military salute while at it.

Shinku chuckled, before patting her head. "Good to hear."

Naruko scribbled down something on a small notebook with a worrying red and yellow cover. Sasuke gave a quick glance at the words, and then proceeded to use his Katana to shred it to pieces.

"We're heading off for dinner right now," Sasuke said, "Want to come?"

"We already ate," Shinku replied, "Maybe next time?"

Kabuto felt a chill ran down his spine.

He had grown accustomed to Orochimaru's murderous gaze, but it still made his skin crawl.

It came from Naruko Namikaze, the 'Hero' of Konoha.

It was just a second, but in it, Kabuto knew without an ounce of doubt that he still remembered what _fear_ felt like.

Naruko smiled then, before grabbing Shinku by the left arm. "I'm not hungry either! 'ttebayo! Go on Uke-chan, offer dinner to Chibi-chan."

"Ah, it is best if I go," Kabuto said suddenly. "I have an early morning shift tomorrow."

"You don't have t—" Shinku started to say, but Kabuto just shook his head and waved goodbye, before dropping down from the roof.

"Naruko," Sasuke said in a warning tone.

"What?" the girl pouted back, still clasping on to Shinku's left arm. Her eyes gazed at Sasuke as if to challenge him to say something.

Sasuke groaned.

"Namikaze-san," Hanabi began, her voice stern and barely controlling her anger. "You are acting like _a_ _spoiled child_," she took a step forward. "Can't you see you're making Shinku-san uncomfortable?"

"Uh?" Naruko blinked. "Ah," she let go of the arm. "You want first dibs?"

"That's not the point!" Hanabi exclaimed, red in the face from the heat of her words. "I can tolerate being dragged like a bag of potatoes back to Konoha —although it was unfit for a Hyuga, although it was demeaning and embarrassing. I cannot tolerate you treating a respectable war hero like Bird-san as if he were your personal toy doll! He is a living being! He is a person! He can be friends with whomever he decides to, and I will not stand by and watch as you force him around on a leash!"

"Oh," Naruko blinked again. "That's a problem?"

"Yes!" Hanabi blurted out, breathing raggedly.

"Then Shin-chan just has to say so," Naruko replied. "It's not like I did anything bad. Kazuto chose to leave."

"It's Kabuto," Shinku replied.

"Yeah, whatever," she rolled her eyes. "The real question is _why_ do _you_ _**not**_ care? Friends don't let friends become friends with untrustworthy people!"

"You don't trust anyone!" Hanabi burst out. "You threatened to kill me!"

"That's…That was different!" Naruko retorted hotly. "Shin-chan just lost his Fu-chan when I threatened you! I was looking out for him! I always look out for my friends!"

"Bird-san doesn't need a babysitter!" Hanabi growled.

"He does!" Naruko yelled back. "What the hell do you know about him anyway!? You knew him for how long? A month? I knew him for more time! You call him 'Bird-san', really! He's Shin-chan! He'll always need someone to look after him"

"He's a better shinobi than you'll ever be!" Hanabi roared, "You take that back now!" she took a step forward.

"Oh? The Chibi-chan wants a fight?" Naruko growled back, taking a step forth. She cracked her knuckles. "The Chibi-chan will get a fight."

"My name is Hanabi Hyuga, not Chibi…you dumb big-breasted whore!" Hanabi's eyes pulsed as she activated her Byakugan.

"Aw, the Chibi hurt my feelings," Naruko chuckled, "Maybe I'll just slap some sense in her."

They were now head to head, their foreheads pressing against one another as they showed their teeth and clenched their fists.

"No fighting in Konoha," Shinku deadpanned, calmly stepping in front of the two and putting his left arm in between, bringing it upwards to force them to separate. "_Understood?_"

"How are you still friends with someone like her, Shinku-san!" Hanabi exclaimed, pointing her finger at Naruko who growled back.

"Shin-chan! What the hell! Tell her she's wrong!"

"I don't even know why you're fighting, both of you," Shinku muttered in disbelief. "What I'm seeing is a pair of squabbling children. I'm flattered," he said towards Hanabi, "about how much you value me, really."

Hanabi turned scarlet. She had…she had really said all of that?

"And I understand your point, Naruko," Shinku continued, his voice calm and collected as if being called _**WEAK**_ simply didn't matter to him.

"But you're both wrong," he chuckled. "I'm not a super-ninja and I'm not someone who needs 'to be taken care of'. Point is, have you tried to put yourself in the shoes of the other for a moment?" he asked softly.

Both girls raised an eyebrow. "Hanabi, Naruko doesn't have any evil bones in her body to begin with. She isn't jealous…she's just clingy because she's worried. I know it seems she's jealous because she might lose a 'toy' but that isn't true. She's actually really worried Kabuto might be a spy, or an enemy shinobi, or something like that…it's how she _thinks_. Not the healthiest of ways to make friends, but it's just how she is."

He turned to gaze at Naruko.

"And Hanabi here was my personal responsibility on the field, Naruko. Think about what it means; thrust in war around unfamiliar faces; think what it means to be in a place where at any one moment an enemy shinobi might strike. It's a feeling of desolation so strong you have no idea, Naruko. It's obvious you find someone to latch on to. I had my heroes too. I followed my own Taichou's orders as if the Hokage himself delivered them to me. He was my hero, and he died on the field in front of my eyes. Do you know what it means, to have your hero die? Someone you consider too strong or powerful for that to happen? Just think what it means to see him ridiculed instead."

He took a deep breath. "Do you have a hero, Naruko? Someone you view up to, and would like to imitate? How would you feel, seeing them made fun of, or treated as if all they ever did was meaningless? Would you be happy about it?"

"But I didn't mean to…" Naruko bit her tongue. "I'm sorry. I don't want to…I didn't want to…I really didn't mean to say you're…well…weak. Just that…Shin-chan is," she fidgeted. "You're not tough like me or Uke-chan. I mean…you lost an arm because of it…if you had something like a Doujutsu I wouldn't be this worried but…you're one of my friends, and I'm always worried. If you told me some of the things you did, maybe I wouldn't be this worried anymore."

Hanabi grimaced lightly. "If…If you wish, we can talk about them. I mean…" she stammered, "A…girls only night with…me and…Wolf-Taichou…and then we can…uh…"

Shinku sighed.

He turned to gaze at Sasuke, who had kept his distance until that moment.

"Coward," he sent the Uchiha's way. The boy simply stood uptight, his hair ruffled as if they were feathers.

"Next time," Sasuke grumbled, "I'll intervene. It's a nice change of pace," he acquiesced. "Not being the one forced to get the overbearing Naruko mother hen-bear mode."

"Hen-bear?" Shinku chuckled. "Well…you managed to get me hungry again. Congratulations…"

"Yes!" Naruko fist pumped in the air. "It's ramen time!"

"You said you weren't hungry," Shinku said, gazing at Naruko.

"I got hungry suddenly," she retorted hotly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And that's final."

Sasuke sighed. "I'm the one who has to offer, right?"

"Yep," Naruko grinned widely. "You do."

With that, the four headed over to Ichiraku ramen…

He'd have to apologize to Kabuto the next day, but then again…he wondered if he should tell Naruko he had another dinner planned out during the week.

He shuddered at the thought.

Shinku understood Sasuke now. He really did. On the other hand…he didn't have his luck. Probably, the girl would know before the end of the week.

**Author's notes**

**Next chapter.**

**Fluff so fluffy to rot your fluffed teeth!**

**More fluff to add to the fluff!**

**Spicy fluff! Salty Fluff! Fluff all around!**

_**EAT. THE. FLUFF.**_

_***Evil maniacal cackle***_

**Ahem,****that****said****...**

**Microtomb did a fan-art! microtomb .deviantart art/Ohi-412492023**

**It made me chuckled for a good half an hour. Thanks!**


	68. Most Lie For Peace of Mind

The Boy in the Team

Chapter Sixty-Eight

There was a knock at the door. Mebuki Haruno cleaned her hands in her apron, before heading towards the spyhole. Her breathing halted as she stilled, her hands frozen and gripping tightly on the apron's cloth. She swallowed thickly, not knowing what to do or say.

There was another knock.

She didn't reply.

"I…I suppose saying I can hear you breath beyond the door would change nothing," Shinku said in a subdued tone. "I'm…well, I just thought a lot of time has passed by already, and maybe you were willing to…I don't know, talk? I mean…it's been five years. I don't know if you forgot me, or if you still hate me. I can't really say I understand, but…well, I'm going to be in Konoha a lot now, so if you ever need a hand…"

Mebuki rattled the lock open quickly, before gazing wide-eyed at her son. He was taller than she was now, and holding a surprised expression that lasted only a second, before moving into a wary grimace. Mebuki didn't waste much time talking. She just lunged and hugged her son tightly.

"It's…it's all right mom," Shinku whispered. "It's all right."

The minute of silence after the hug was awkward at first.

"You've grown so much," Mebuki murmured, looking up at him. Shinku awkwardly nodded. "Want to come in for tea?"

"I'd…like that."

Outside on a nearby rooftop, Naruko dropped the binoculars from her face. She gave a quick nod to one of her clones, who stood at attention, and then departed. Her clone would check for any troubles with that 'Kabuto' person. She, on the other hand, had something more important to do.

"Your father's hanging on a thin thread as it is," Sasuke's voice cut her off her spying, "And instead of being there, you're here."

"Dad's going to pull through," Naruko replied without a single worried tone in her voice. "Mom's with him anyway."

"You're spying on your teammate's reunion with his family," Sasuke continued. "After the chat Shinku had with you last night, you're still doing this?"

Naruko bit her lips. "It's just, what else can I do?"

"Train?" Sasuke suggested with a drawl.

"Boring," Naruko pouted. "And I don't need to train. I'm fine."

"Then…come hang out at the hospital?" he suggested.

"Uke-chan, are you going to go down on me in the doctor's office?" she teased him, grinning widely.

"No," Sasuke said curtly. "You look like an over attached girlfriend or something, tone it down a bit."

"I don't trust that Kabuto guy," Naruko murmured darkly. "I think he's hiding something."

"You say that of _everyone_ Naruko," Sasuke sighed. "And I did check. He's clean. He's cleaner than me or you even."

"That's suspicious!" Naruko pointed out. "I'm very clean," she nodded. "Want to see if the carpet matches the curtain with its cleanness?" she grinned, only to receive a fist on the head.

"Ouch!" she winced, whining softly. "It hurt!"

"No it didn't," Sasuke grumbled. "I'd need a brick to even start hurting you."

Naruko pouted. "They never told you that you can't hit girls?"

"As if," Sasuke rolled his eyes. He frowned, his eyes trailing towards the house kept under 'surveillance'. "How is the meeting going along?" he asked, slowly getting down by Naruko's side.

"Here," Naruko popped from a seal another pair of binoculars. "I have Chibi-chan on the nearby rooftop too," she added offhandedly.

Sasuke's binoculars moved to stare at, in fact, the nearby rooftop where Hanabi Hyuga was doing pretty much the same thing as them.

"I can't believe this," Sasuke muttered. "I can't believe I'm actually participating in this."

"Hey, you were the one who told me to keep an eye on him, Uke-chan," Naruko whispered softly, her voice now serious. "And I'm doing it. I couldn't save his arm," she added, "But I'm not going to fail again."

Sasuke didn't reply.

Mebuki took a sip of tea, before sadly looking at Shinku's stump.

"Was…was it during the war that…"

"No," Shinku replied with a small smile and a soft shake of the head. "It was after. S-rank shinobi, tried to hold me down. I managed to get free but…well, it cost me my right arm."

"Are you still taking missions?" she asked worriedly.

"No, I'm out of active service," Shinku replied. "I'm starting work at the Research and Development of Konoha's military department next week," he tapped his hand on the surface of the table. "Right! I'll give you my address, in case you need anything…" using his left, he slipped out of one of his pockets a pencil and a piece of paper, before scribbling down where the house was located. "It's less of an address and more of a map," he sheepishly acquiesced. "I'm transferring there at the end of the week, until then I can be found at the first address."

"Ah," Mebuki smiled as she took the slip of paper, reading it with a warm gaze. "I see. You're all grown up now, right?"

"No one can remain a child forever," he chuckled back. "So," his eyes settled on the nearby photograph, "You…adopted a kid?"

Mebuki gazed at him with a surprised expression. "You…knew?"

"Not until I saw the pictures, and the framed photos," he remarked. "And I don't think you'd use anything that overtly pink," he gestured towards a pink umbrella with his head.

Mebuki simply held her smile, albeit it was now smaller. "Mai was the daughter of a friend of mine. Her parents died during the siege five years ago, so I took her in. When…When I heard you were sent off to the frontline, I thought about writing to you, but…but I was a coward," she no longer smiled, her eyes closed as she tightly clenched her hands. "So I never actually sent you a letter."

"It's in the past," Shinku replied. "I have a younger sister, then?"

"She'll be delighted to know you," Mebuki replied. "After she found out her doctor was none other than Sasuke Uchiha, she began to look at your team. When she asked…I admit I told her you were her brother, but you were busy with the war and missions, so you couldn't come back."

"Oh," he blinked in surprise. "That's…nice, I suppose…" he looked around nervously, "How big of a 'fan' is she in regards to Sasuke? No, because if I have to wipe the floor with him…"

Sasuke snorted in amusement from his spot on the rooftop. Shaking his head, he returned to lip-reading.

"Don't trust her, Shin-chan," Naruko muttered next to him. "She left you once. You can't trust those people! They'll do it again," she continued to whisper hard. "Come on, Shin-chan…she's lying. She just wants the girl to get Uke-chan's autograph. Realize it. Stop smiling Shin-chan. Damn it. Damn it!" she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Shin-chan needs a hand."

"Aren't you here to make sure it goes well?" Sasuke whispered harshly.

"Yes, for Shin-chan," Naruko retorted hotly. "If he wants to prank his mother, he just has to say the word," she continued.

"He wants to make peace with his mother, Dobe," Sasuke growled. "How is that difficult to understand?"

"But she betrayed him once already!" Naruko whispered furiously. "If she did it once, she can do it again! Think about how sad he'll be! He'll cry, and then he'll sniffle, and he might try to take his life! He doesn't need her! He has us!"

"Naruko," Sasuke whispered, "It's not that. He's making peace because he wants to give her another chance."

"Why?"

"Because…if she learned from her mistake, she won't make it again?" Sasuke hazarded.

Naruko clenched her fists. "And what if it isn't true? What if the bitch uses him? What then, uh?"

"Then we intervene, of course," Sasuke replied with a scoff, "that's what friends are for. We aren't there to guide and command his life, Naruko. We're there to give him a hand if he needs one…and he doesn't need one now."

Naruko bit her lips, but remained quiet.

Sasuke licked his lips. Maybe if Naruko finally understood the message…

"She's at the academy?" Shinku asked.

"I tried to convince her otherwise," Mebuki sighed. "But she was really fired up about it…and she's first of the class too," there was pride in her words.

"I'm sure she'll do fine then," Shinku chuckled. "If she's at the academy, aren't you supposed to be going now?" he asked, gazing at the clock.

"Oh," she blinked. "You're right."

They both stood up from the table at the same time. "Do you want to come and meet her?" Mebuki asked. Shinku merely smiled, before giving a nod.

"Sure."

As they walked towards the academy, Mebuki gazed at the sky for a moment, before asking with a light grin on her face. "So…I've heard an interesting piece of gossip recently…"

"No," Shinku replied quickly. "If it's the same I think it is, then the answer is 'no'."

"Oh," she looked somewhat sad. "How long until I can expect grandchildren then?"

He sputtered, coughing as the saliva stuck to his throat. "No!"

"You should find yourself a girlfriend," Mebuki continued, nodding sagely. "You have a job, a house and you're not ugly. You're a good catch, let me tell you this."

"Mom," Shinku whined. "Are you done embarrassing me?"

Chuckling lightly, Mebuki held a grin on her face. The grin slowly disappeared as they kept on walking, her eyes now sad. "You know…I should be the one apologizing," she muttered. "We never had a talk like this before…did we?"

"Not that I can recall," Shinku murmured. "We didn't have much time for talking to begin with."

"Are you free tonight?" Mebuki asked, turning thoughtful. "I'm sure all you eat is rubbish anyway."

Shinku winced, his lips twitching upwards. "I'm a decent cook of scrambled eggs and dried meat soup. I can also make battlefield rice cakes."

"We'll have dumplings, umeboshi and anmitsu," Mebuki said. "It will be a feast, Shannaro!"

"Sounds good," replied Shinku.

The academy had just rung the bell, and the students were all coming out excitedly. Standing there next to his mother, his eyes scanning the crowd for the same face he had seen in the picture, a small twinge of something carefully carved itself out and fell on the bloodied sands of his mindscape.

His mother had never come in person to bring him back home from the academy. He had always walked the path back alone, going back into an empty house, to a dinner to heat.

The girl had _pink_ hair, and it stood out visibly in the middle of the crowd of students. Her green eyes looked with curiosity towards him, even as she neared her mother full-speed. She was probably eleven or twelve, judging by her height.

"Mom?" she said with a curious voice, looking towards him —and specifically, his stumped limb. "Who is he?"

"Mai-chan," Mebuki said with a smile, "This here is your older brother, Shinku."

From a nearby rooftop, Naruko began to chuckle darkly. Sasuke gave her a worried look, before carefully scuttling away. Blood dribbled down the girl's nose, as she took a paintbrush and began to scribble down.

"Oh, oh, oh," she chuckled like a perverted lecher. "Moe! This is moe! Go on, sparkle for me big wide green eyes! Sparkle! Or maybe go Tsundere! It's not like I wanted to meet you, Onii-sama! Or go the Onii-chan! Do the Onii-chan…yes, yes!"

"Na-Ru-Ko," Sasuke said darkly, his right hand gripping at the handle of his katana. Electricity sparkled through the blade. "Have you no shame?"

Naruko laughed nervously, closing the book and holding it close to her chest as she stood up slowly. "As my honourable Perverted Super-Porn Master Jiraiya-sama says…moe is the younger sister of porn!"

"Naruko…" he hissed.

Crying fake crocodile tears, Naruko began slowly to tear up the notebook. "You're so cruel, Uke-chan…so, so cruel…"

"And don't put the pieces in your pocket!" Sasuke snapped, "You're not gluing them back together afterwards!"

"You meanie!" Naruko cried louder, as she watched the pieces —settled into a pile at her feet— combust under the fireball technique of Sasuke. "You barbarian! You destroyer of the sacred arts of porn and moe!"

Shinku watched with an amused expression as the girl shyly stood behind Mebuki, looking up at him. "Sh-Shinku-Oniisan?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"You're really in a team with the hero of Konoha?" Mai asked promptly.

"I was," he said. "I lost an arm on my last mission, so I stopped."

"Why?" Mai asked, "If I was in a team with the hero of Konoha, I'd never leave it!" her eyes widened, and then she pushed herself behind her mother's leg a bit more. "Sorry."

"It's all right," Shinku said, waving off the apology. "So, mom told me you're the first in the class?"

"Uh-uh!" she nodded brightly, "The teacher said I'm going to be the prime kunoichi if I keep it up!"

They began to walk back, with Mai excitedly taking the hand of Shinku and gripping tightly on it. "Is it true that Namikaze-sama has a relationship with Uchiha-sama?"

"I don't think they do," Shinku replied. "They're more like a petulant pair of brother and sister."

Sasuke and Naruko shared a glance. "He's paying for the 'petulant' later on," Sasuke deadpanned.

"I'm not 'petulant'," Naruko whined. "I'm sexy. He could have used the word 'sexy'. But yeah Uke-chan, you _are_ petulant. And you're a prude."

"I am not petulant!" Sasuke retorted hotly, his hair _petulantly_ rising up.

Mai blinked. "Why didn't you visit earlier?"

"I was busy with missions," he replied, "Highly classified, so I can't talk to you about them," he added.

"Oh! Oh, you're an Anbu right? A super-secret Anbu?"

"I was," Shinku said. "Anbu at thirteen, Jounin at fifteen," he continued. "Apparently, I'm the youngest Jounin of my generation," he murmured softly.

"Hey, Onii-san," Mai exclaimed, catching his attention, "Who's the strongest between you, Sasuke-sama and Naruko-sama?"

Shinku turned thoughtful, his eyes moving to the nearby rooftop where two morons were doing a complete mess of _trying_ to hide.

"I can't say," he replied calmly.

"SHIN-CHAN!" on cue, Naruko's scream tore the air. "That's not true! Come on and—"

She winced as she realized she had given away her position.

"Sasuke's hiding nearby, isn't he?" Shinku replied, gesturing at her to come down. Really, he knew his teammates like the palm of his left hand.

Grumbling, Sasuke flickered down next to him.

"Hanabi watching from afar?" he added, inclining his head to the side with a small smile. The Hyuga appeared with a slight huff, her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment.

"Shinku-san, I didn't mean to…" she began, only for Naruko to interrupt.

"Oi, Shin-chan! I'm clearly the strongest here!" she flexed her arms' muscles.

"In your dreams, idiot," Sasuke retorted.

Mai's eyes widened to near impossible lengths as she watched the two most talked of people of Konoha stand in front of her and acting so casual with one another and her older brother. She didn't know who the other kunoichi was, but one thing was clear. If her brother had such amazing friends, then he had to be nothing short than _awesome_.

"Oh my," Mebuki said in surprise. "I… Were they following us?"

"Just me," Shinku sighed. "These two have stalker tendencies," chuckling, he shook his head in disbelief. "Stop roping in people like that, really," he gazed towards Hanabi. "You don't have to follow through everything they say, you know?"

Hanabi nodded quickly.

"It's not stalking when it's true love!" Naruko replied, only to be on the receiving end of two fists to the head. Shinku exhaled, actually surprised _Hanabi_ had been the one to deliver the fist together with Sasuke.

"Uh…Uhm…" Mai fidgeted for a moment, "Can…Can I have your autograph!?"

"Sure!" Naruko replied with a smile and a thumb-up. "Well," she said after quickly writing one down —soon followed by Sasuke doing the same. "We're off to train," she smiled. "Remember, drink lots of milk or they won't grow!"

Mai frowned, not understanding.

Shinku brought a hand to his face in disbelief.

Sasuke gripped Naruko's wrist with a half-angry glare, while Hanabi carefully gazed down at hers.

She liked milk, so why weren't they growing up to begin with?

The rest of the day, Shinku found himself answering questions about what Naruko and Sasuke were like. He hadn't expected something different, and so he provided what he could.

He walked back home soon after dinner, tired but surprisingly satisfied with how the day had gone by. Was this what awaited him, day after day? Gazing at the sky, he hummed.

Everything was fine.

He offhandedly pushed his left hand towards his right shoulder, scratching it. The stitches always started acting up in the middle of the night. Shinku actually made a small moan of relief as he scratched the itch. The sun settled, and he opened the door of his apartment with what little it still contained.

Sasuke waited for him at the table, standing prim and proper as if he had been rehearsing a speech just for the moment.

Shinku blinked.

He sat down in front of him, after closing the door behind.

"Thank you," Sasuke bowed his head.

"Uh?" Shinku raised an eyebrow. "Ah," he closed his eyes, "You caught on?"

"Are…you all right?" Sasuke asked in a whisper.

"It's sort of funny," Shinku replied softly. "I know I should feel bitter, or at least slightly jealous. It's a normal reaction, really…but I can't. I'm already good at squashing down jealousy, so…I'm fine. I hope it helps with Naruko."

"I don't know how much it will," Sasuke murmured. "But…thank you, all the same."

"What else are friends for?" Shinku retorted. "I didn't do it principally for that of course," he added. "Just, you know…lead by example and all of that."

"You're a friend," Sasuke whispered. "Would you be my best man at the wedding?"

"Sure," Shinku replied. "When is it?"

"The next moonless night, at the Nara shrine," Sasuke acquiesced.

"Do I need to wear camouflage?" this time, his voice filled with sarcasm.

"If you can manage to avoid being followed by Naruko without using it, then yes," Sasuke replied. "I'll have a late night shift at the hospital on that day. You could stay after work at your job…"

"Sure," Shinku rolled his eyes. "Or you know, you could try to tell Naruko about the marriage beforehand."

"We already spoke about that," Sasuke murmured.

"I'll respect your wishes," Shinku said. "I don't have to like them, but I'll respect them."

He drummed his fingers. "You already found the rings?"

Sasuke quietly glanced sideways.

"Oh, I see. You want me to distract Naruko so you can go look for them."

"Actually…I want you _and Hanabi_ to look for them," Sasuke continued. "On the pretext of a date, you two will," his voice now assumed the same tone of a military commander delivering orders, as he opened up a map of Konoha's main markets, "Begin operation 'shadow-shadow ring finder'."

"Shadow…shadow ring finder?" Shinku asked in disbelief.

"Yes. You will go out on a fake-date with Hanabi, visiting the jewellery shops in between. Naruko and I will follow you of course, just as an Uchiha police officer will. You will say 'Isn't that a nice ring?' if you have a possible candidate, while Hanabi will reply with 'Hai' or 'I don't think so' if she doesn't like it. She's the closest one to Hinata's tastes…"

"You're really giving a lot of thought on this," Shinku mumbled, staring at the small arrows on the map that seemed to indicate possible 'flanking' spots by rabid fan girls.

"Indeed. I will keep Naruko occupied, as will you and Hanabi mock dating. The Uchiha police officer will then proceed to buy the required rings. He's getting married in a few months anyway, so even if Naruko triple checks his background because of a hunch she won't find anything strange with it."

"You're yanking my chain," Shinku muttered. "You'd go to such lengths? Just tell her already!"

"I'd like the Hyuga clan not to be exterminated in the night," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Naruko wouldn't do that," Shinku retorted.

"No? Do you want to bet the future of Konoha on it, Shinku?"

"Fine!" he exhaled. "But you're offering dinner two nights from now."

It was Sasuke's turn to bring up an eyebrow.

"Two nights from now?"

"Yes, since tomorrow night I'll be busy with Kakashi," he remarked dryly. "And I'll probably have to deal with another night out a few days later…" he sighed, "I never thought my schedule would get this full."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I'm trying to make friends with the rest of the teams of our generation, Sasuke," Shinku continued, "So I can pull Naruko along."

"Oh."

Silence settled between the two.

"I should have thought about that earlier," Sasuke muttered.

"You were busy with, you know, not dying and working at the hospital," Shinku replied. "Don't worry though," he smiled. "You entrusted Naruko to me. I won't let you down on it."

Sasuke chuckled. "Thanks, Shinku."

"Nah, don't bother until you see the bill for the mock-date. We're going to be eating caviar until we die!"

"Oi!" Sasuke exclaimed, a tick mark on his forehead. "I never said anything about paying that bill!"

"What? No, no, I clearly heard you 'Oh supreme Shinku-sama, I will gladly foot the bills for the date'."

"Are you channelling Naruko now?" Sasuke mouthed in shock, "Stop! Come back to earth Shinku! Renounce that evil!"

They both laughed.

Naruko carefully slid open the door of the hospital's archive room. The security increase had been no joke, but she had managed to enter anyway without anyone seeing her. Stepping inside, she carefully moved towards the drawers in the corner. Flipping open the 'Y' section, she removed the 'Yakushi Kabuto' folder and began to read it.

Her eyes scanned through the usual spouted drivel, before she settled on the patients' the boy had treated. She hummed thoughtfully, letting a few of her Kage Bunshin check those patients' records. Everything returned clean. No mysterious deaths, no strange conspiracies…that was even more suspicious.

Carefully, she placed everything back where it was and popped away with the other Kage Bunshin.

The real one, sitting near her sleeping mother whose face was on her father's bed sheets, exhaled. She began to chew on her thumb's nail. It was suspicious. It was strange. She'd check the Konoha archives. She'd look in the T&I department. She wasn't going to stand by and watch as a…as a _nobody_ took her friend away just like that.

So what if Shin-chan couldn't be an active shinobi anymore? It didn't mean he had to start hanging out with other people.

Her father's conditions didn't change at all. Tsunade-baachan had said it was because of a Neurotoxin, or something similar in the bloodstream. The poison had to be inhalable, because there had been no signs of ruptured skin if not for the bruise her mother had delivered to her father. That was what the medical trial ascertained. The Anbu had seen her mother deliver a punch and then leave.

She groaned, before looking at her mother's sleeping form and her father's immobile one.

She couldn't stay there a moment more.

Where could she go? Uke-chan had said he'd take care of guarding Shin-chan, so she could spend some time with her family. Her mother was sleeping and her father wasn't up for conversations at all. Stretching slightly, she gazed out of the window into the dark of the night.

She needed fresh air.

The Chibi was probably sleeping. The Ichiraku ramen had closed for the night most certainly. Outside of the hospital, there was just the occasional Anbu rushing by. What could she do?

She opened the window and slid outside, closing it behind her. She jumped then silently, flickering on a nearby rooftop and from there to another one. A few shunshin later, and she stopped.

Why had she gone there, of all places?

She was right atop her father's stone head. It had always been her favourite spot, and even then, it held a certain fascination in her mind.

Naruko was bothered. She wouldn't admit it outright, but there were a few things that bothered her. Firstly, Shin-chan's stupid optimistic view of the world. He had lost an arm. He was supposed to be angry, not…_relieved_.

She didn't know whether it was that which was hurting her, or the fact he had taken the excuse to drop out of active service with glee. She couldn't understand it.

She was glad he wasn't risking his life again, but at the same time she wasn't.

It was complicated.

She nodded to herself. 'Complicated' was probably the best answer she could come up with.

The second thing that grated on her nerves was that she knew something was wrong, but she couldn't place it. It was some sort of small nagging voice in the back of her head. It was a twinge that made her heart hurt.

She realized it then, as she gazed at the sleeping village, what it was that made her feel so.

She felt...unfulfilled.

Her hands slapped her cheeks tightly. "No brooding," she grumbled. "Emo-Uke-Chan broods enough. Dad's going to pull through, everyone is going to be happy, and nothing bad is going to happen to Shin-chan anymore. Uke-chan's going to make it through somehow. Chibi-chan won't end up being a backstabbing bitch. Maybe…maybe everything will be fine from now on…"

The nagging feeling returned.

It felt…as if she was forgetting something.

Something very important.

Hidan grumbled. Kakuzu snorted. Nagato gazed at the map. With the rain pouring down thickly and hitting against the window of the small room in the land of Rain's shinobi village of Amegakure, it was the perfect setting for a dry-cut conversation between the members of Akatsuki.

"Sasori's spy came through with the patrols," Nagato said crisply. "We will have to strike quickly to apprehend the Jinchuuriki. Each of you will be required to fulfil its role as fast as possible. The loss of life will be great, but once that is over with, our weapon will be nearing completion."

He gazed at Zetsu. "How are things faring?"

"We cannot seem to find the connection with the _seed_ we left behind," the shinobi replied. "**He burned it off."**

"We must concentrate our attacks, especially now that we know the power of the Nine-Tails, we cannot go easy on the Eight-Tails," Konan said, her voice carrying a concerned tone. "We will complete the weapon."

"Unfortunately, we cannot risk the other Jinchuuriki going into hiding," Nagato continued. "Which is why one side will take care of securing the location of the one in Konoha," he gazed at the red haired girl and the orange haired man, "I trust you can provide with the Jinchuuriki's location at a moment's notice."

"Of course, Pain-sama," Karin replied with a small nod. "Jugo and I will certainly be able to find her, no matter where the village will try to hide their precious Jinchuuriki."

"We will strike Kumogakure first, and then Konoha," Nagato replied.

"Uhm," Kisame grumbled. "What about corpse boy and girl?"

"Hey, I have a name!" Obito exclaimed. "And so has Rin!"

"They will help in the subdual of the eight tails and its transport."

"Be as it is," Kisame grumbled, "I wouldn't trust someone I can't kill."

"If they present a problem, rest assured there are ways to deal with them," Nagato continued.

"Oh, yes, please speak as if we weren't even in the room," Obito growled, crossing his arms over his chest. Rin remained quiet, her eyes low behind her teammate. "It's not like we have feelings or anything. We're dead."

"Somehow, I hoped they would stay silent after reanimation," Kakuzu grumbled. "I have enough with one immortal man-child."

"I think the cult of Jashin could use more followers," Hidan replied snidely, taking out his scythe. "It will be my painful pleasure to instruct these heathens."

Nagato closed his eyes for a moment.

Why were all the S-rank shinobi mad lunatics? Couldn't they be sane and well-centred individuals?

The rain kept falling.

No one answered his silent mental plea for a reason.

**Author's notes**

**Too much fluff. Kindness. Love. Friendship. Forgiveness. **

…**If ponies start talking, I'm bailing.**


End file.
